Superintendent Tim Woodward explains the future of the rotor project at Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District’s Monday, July 21 meeting. He expects the project to be complete by Labor Day and plant capacity to later increase to 0.6 million gallons per day. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

CROMWELL — Superintendent Tim Woodward gave an update on Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District’s rotor project at its meeting Monday, July 21.

Woodward expects Mason Engineering to be done with the replacement of old rotors, which mix and aerate sewage, in September. By Labor Day, he said, four new rotors should be running in the sewer plant’s oxidation ditches.

“When this is done, then after six months, we start to meet the permit, they’ll increase our capacity to 0.6 (million gallons per day),” he said.

The plant’s design capacity is currently 0.5 million, or 500,000 gallons per day, and the district is operating in the 90th percentile of this capacity annually. The increase will enable TCRSD to take on more customers without overflowing.

The plant handled the high-flow Fourth of July weekend, which peaked at a record flow of 1.85 million gallons.

During the construction process, TCRSD has found the 37-year-old valves in the plant’s teacup system need replaced, which should be done sometime in August.

The district’s drinking water consumer confidence report, or CCR, has been completed for the year. No contaminants were found. The full report is available to view at tcrsd.com.

Woodward mentioned there have been some questions about the rate increase enacted in June to keep pace with inflation. He stated that in 2018, if he needed to buy a new pump for a system in the district, for example, the Spink Condominiums, the pump would have cost $31,000. A pump for that system would cost about $48,000 today.

“There’s been about a 35% increase in all the pumps we buy,” he said.

Woodward noted the district has also been diligent about buying pumps three of four at a time over the past 30 years, meaning there are currently 42 pumps in stock for when replacement is needed.

“We don’t have a lift station that we don’t have a pump for,” said Woodward.

In the engineering report, Jeff Hersha of Jones and Henry Engineers, shared he has been in contact with the State Revolving Fund’s Manager of Technical Review Camille Miner about the Enchanted Hills water utility. TCRSD has had difficulty getting funding to repair the small, aging utility in the past.

“It seems evident that somebody’s trying to figure out ways to help you folks. At the point I’ve got everything to her that she’s requested,” he said. It is not yet known what funding, if any, TCRSD will receive to improve the utility after its grant application to SRF this year.

Hersha announced the final payment of accrued interest from the Eastshore/Northshore project has been issued to TCRSD. It totals $10,704.02.

Next on Hersha’s agenda is compiling a list of all TCRSD’s unpaid items by Monday, Aug. 4.

“I am not done yet, but I am very comfortable with believing the set aside from the (bond-anticipatory note) will cover it,” he said. TCRSD closed on a B.A.N. of $1,866,000 in June, as a potential alternative to SRF monies if the district is not found grant fundable.

Before the meeting concluded, board President Jim Boone suggested making some changes to TCRSD’s employment policies: allowing employees to start their 401k’s after 90 days instead of two years, and increasing the vacation earned at 20 years of employment from three weeks to four weeks.

“I think the waiting period would be a detriment to hiring … the vacation could be an incentive to stay,” said Boone.

The board decided to discuss the matter further at August’s meeting.

Lastly, the board approved removing office manager, Pam Johns, who will be retiring soon, from the district’s Horizon Bank signature cards. New office manager, Emily Bush, will be added.

The next Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District meeting will be 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18.