Stratford WPCA approves sewer ties for two multifamily projects, refers pump-station relocation to planning commission

The Town of Stratford Water Pollution Control Authority voted Aug. 26 to approve sewer connections for two approved multifamily developments and to refer a separate pump-station relocation plan to the planning commission for its Aug. 24 review.

Town Engineer Casey told the board the pump station currently sits on property of the former Army Engine Plant, which the transcript says was sold to a private developer. "The pump station is... basically in the middle of some of the area he wants to redevelop," Casey said, and the project requires a new gravity sewer routed to the relocated pump station. Casey said the town used grant funds to design the schematic plan and recommended sending it to the planning commission to determine whether the proposed infrastructure fits the town's long-term development plans.

Casey and several board members pressed on implementation details. One member asked whether construction costs would fall to the developer or Stratford residents; Casey said that question has not been fully answered and that the current work is design-only. Casey estimated demolition on the site is underway and suggested infrastructure work could coincide with redevelopment, offering a rough timeline of about 12–36 months for construction-related activity. He emphasized the existing pump station "will remain in place until the new infrastructure is constructed and accepted." The board voted by voice to refer the schematic and associated plan to the planning commission.

On two separate agenda items the board approved sewer connections for developments the planning and zoning commissions had already approved. Casey described 170 Oronoke Lane as an 11-unit condominium-style development with 33 bedrooms that the engineer estimated would generate an average daily flow of 4,950 gallons and a peak of about 19,800 gallons (roughly 0.2 million gallons per day). A member asked why the parcel went from one previously approved connection (for an existing single-family house) to the larger multifamily plan; Casey explained the property's approval history and said the earlier single connection reflected the site's prior single-house use.

Casey also described the 600 Silver Lane proposal, which calls for converting a former church into six apartments and developing nine condominium-style single-family units, for a total of 33 bedrooms and wastewater flows similar to the Oronoke Lane project. The board moved and approved the sewer connections for both developments by voice vote.

What happens next: the pump-station plan will be considered by the Town of Stratford planning commission on Aug. 24; any construction, cost-sharing arrangements and contractor selections remain to be determined and will return to the WPCA or other town bodies as required.