Cheshire WPCA warns aging pipes, stormwater inflow are 'killing' plant capacity; consultants propose $400,000-a-year find-and-fix program

John Prad, chairman of the Town of Cheshire Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA), told the council that infiltration and inflow — water that should not be entering the sewer system — is consuming treatment capacity and driving up costs.

"This is water that is not supposed to be coming into our system that's making its way into there. And we are getting robbed of capacity of the plant," Prad said, adding bluntly, "It's killing us." The presentation was delivered by Wright-Pierce engineers, who outlined plant condition, regulatory history and remedial options.

Why it matters: Council members heard that the town's treatment plant is about 60 years old and has been repeatedly upgraded for new permit-driven requirements, but the collection system beneath the streets has aged and deteriorated. Wright-Pierce reported that a 2025 townwide INI study divided the system's 96 miles of sewer into 40 sections; 16 of those sections showed excessive responses to rainfall and groundwater, identifying roughly 40 miles requiring attention.

Study findings and recommendation: Wright-Pierce engineers said the most cost-effective near-term approach is a sustained "find-and-fix" program that targets big, single-point inflow sources and the most problematic pipe reaches. The consultant proposed budgeting about $400,000 per year for five years, with an illustrative funding split of 55% state grant and 45% town share. That program is not a one-time fix, the consultants warned: INI removal requires ongoing maintenance after major defects are addressed.

Regulatory pressure and consequences: Presenters said Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a Notice of Violation after two years of poor maintenance at the plant; Wright-Pierce said the DEP indicated it may withhold future capital funding for plant upgrades if INI is not addressed.

Technical evidence: Engineers showed photos and video of flooding at the plant, sections of concrete pipe reduced to ribbing by corrosion, and a force-main failure that drove an emergency repair. The firm explained methods for locating sources of INI — flow meters, camera inspection, smoke testing and targeted televise inspections — and described trenchless lining options for reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) when the pipe condition allows it.

Council questions and local constraints: Council members pressed on practical problems: how to detect private sump-pump or gutter connections, whether the town can force disconnection, how much repair is likely from the $400,000 example (estimates ranged from dozens of manhole repairs up to a few hundred feet of 8-inch lining depending on pipe size and damage), and the role of major customers. WPCA staff said the state's prison is about 20% of the town's flow and pays for delivered flow; the prison's flows were not identified as the primary INI cause but are material to capacity calculations.

Costs and next steps: Wright-Pierce offered a capital improvement plan that includes denitrification upgrades, pump station design and hydraulic-bottleneck corrections at the plant. The firm emphasized pursuing construction grants when available and developing strategies to reduce private INI over time, including inspection at property transfer and possible homeowner assistance programs. The WPCA and council framed the problem as a long-term, generational program rather than a single project.

What happens next: Council members and staff agreed the town needs prioritized, targeted work on the highest-return areas and continued communication with state regulators; staff offered to provide more detailed follow-up for specific neighborhoods and to bring cost estimates as projects are scoped. "We know where to look now," a consultant said, referring to meter and mapping results from the 2025 study.

Ending: The presentation concluded with a commitment from the WPCA and consultants to provide more detailed project scopes and cost estimates for council review and to continue seeking state construction grants where timing allows.