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Torrington WPCA approves $426 sewer use fee; officials cite rising sludge disposal and energy costs
Summary
The Torrington City Council, sitting as the Water Pollution Control Authority, approved a $6 increase in the annual sewer use fee to $426 per dwelling unit for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, citing higher sludge-disposal costs, electricity and maintenance expenses and limited regional disposal capacity.
The Torrington City Council, sitting as the Water Pollution Control Authority, voted to set the sewer use fee for the year beginning July 1, 2025, at $426 per dwelling unit and $426 per 65,000 gallons of flow for nonresidential users, a $6 increase from the prior year.
The authority approved the recommendation after hearing a staff overview of cost drivers. Ed (WPCA administrator and public works director) told the board that major budget pressures include employee-benefit increases, a roughly 10% rise in sludge-disposal charges and higher electricity, service agreements and preventative-maintenance costs. He said the sludge-disposal increase follows a contracting market with fewer bidders and aging incinerator infrastructure in the state.
"We went out to bid five years ago for that contract, and there were only two bidders. The person that won, Veolia, won the bid, and they decided they're not gonna do that anymore," Ed said, describing a more constrained market for disposal services. He added the authority is investigating newer technologies that could reduce disposal volumes and costs and said the city is exploring whether any such technologies could be located in Torrington.
Council members asked about the likely local impact of new technologies and where they would be sited. Ed said the evaluation is ongoing and that if staff identifies feasible alternatives, the matter will come back to the WPCA for further consideration.
Councilman Waldron made the motion to accept the WPCA administrator's recommendation; Councilman Oliver seconded. The motion passed on a roll call vote with Councilman Waldron, Councilman Iveen, Councilwoman Espino, Councilman Kevin Arrow and Councilman Oliver voting yes.
The board did not adopt an alternative fee schedule during the meeting and did not set any specific timeline for implementing or approving new disposal technologies. The $6 increase and the staff explanations were the substantive actions taken on the first agenda item.
