NORWALK, Conn. – An unusual number of shellfish bed closures this winter brought an unusual number of people to Monday’s Water Pollution Control Authority meeting.
“To have closures in the dead of winter, especially the number we were having, it was just unusual. Also, with all the development that’s going in, the apartments they’re putting in, we’re just a little concerned that the sewer plant can handle everything. It’s the storm water, the run off and all of that,” Tim Cramer said, explaining why he had come with three compatriots, including Norm Bloom of Norm Bloom and Sons Oysters, to the meeting.
The problems trace to sewer work done in Rowayton and on Moody’s Lane, Department of Public Works Supervising Environmental Engineer Ralph Kolb said, expressing confidence that the water quality is better now.
“Down by Farm Creek we did have a couple of issues with Pine Point sewer,” Kolb said. “In the process of us rehabbing it we did have a couple of spills. At that time as well the counts did shoot up. Once we got the line repaired the counts went down.”
Those are virus counts; virus counts are used in winter and bacteria counts are used in summer, he said.
There was also a rain storm that caused a closure, he said.
Bypass pumps will be installed soon and then 250 feet of PVC pipe will replace the current sewer line, he said.
“In that vicinity, we should be good with sanitary sewer,” Kolb said.
As far as Moody’s Lane goes, Dick Harris of Harbor Watch did some water sampling and found high bacteria counts, Kolb said. City workers subsequently found a sewage line on Harbor Avenue, from a home to the street, that had failed. A few days later a sinkhole developed on the street from another failed line, he said.
The Health Department got involved because the problems were on private property and repairs are being made, Kolb said. Harbor Watch will continue testing, he said.
“Great response from the city. Nothing but great. We’re here for support, we want to help,” Bloom said.
WPCA Chairman Darren Oustafine said Monday night’s turnout was the most people he had seen at a WPCA meeting, with the exception of the recent public hearing on the sewage treatment plant’s permit renewal.
“I saw people who I never saw before and it made no sense for them to come to the hearing because we’re going to operate a wastewater treatment plant,” Oustafine said. “The city cannot do without a wastewater treatment plant. It was going to be renewed and they talked about everything from odors to mismanagement and all kinds of aspersions that were unfounded, in my opinion. I really appreciate someone showing up at a regular old normal meeting to express their opinion. … Please come back any old time.”
“The city has been responding greatly on finding problems and fixing them,” Bloom said after the meeting. “We just want to show support, make sure it keeps going and make sure thing are going because we do experience more closures and a lot of that is due to weather, getting more rain, whatever. There’s been more and more testing.”
With more apartments being built, “we get worried about making sure our sewer plant can handle it,” Bloom said. “We’ll start paying attention, start watching. This is very important to us.”
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