Could a Regional Sewer District be the Answer to Cost Woes?

Rising operation costs and a growing number of expensive and unfunded federal Clean Water Act mandates are making operating a Water Pollution Control Facility an expensive venture for towns like Southington.

John Barry believes the town may be overlooking an option to combating these costs: regionalization.

Barry on Monday presented the idea to the council, asking that the town look at the practicality and costs associated with partnering with one, or more, local towns to develop a regional sewer district. The district would serve as one organization representing each of the parties involved.

“It’s an idea that is very preliminary in concept, but based on what has been happening over the past decade, it seems that cost control could come using a regional approach,” Barry said. “Whether it would work, who would be involved, it’s just too early to tell. We don’t know because we don’t know what our options are yet.”

The suggestion came on the same night that members of the council voted unanimously to hire a lobbyist along with a coalition of towns to seek legislative help in regard to .

Meriden has already joined and Wallingford officials were scheduled Tuesday night to vote on whether to join in.

A federal mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency being enforced through the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has set stringent limits on phosphorus output. The town would be required to reduce limits to 0.2 mg/L, a mandate that could cost the town anywhere from $20 to $40 million to comply with.

In addition, residents have seen sewer rate increases of 20 percent and 15 percent over the past four years and will have another four percent increase starting in July, Barry said.

“It seems to me that a lot of these costs could be reduced by eliminating facilities and combining resources. It would put us in better position to handle the wave of new costs.”

The suggestion led Council Chairman Edward Pocock III to request town staff look into the logistics behind such a move, but many council members have reserved judgment until the facts are in – John Barry included.

Pocock said the increases in sewer rates were due to zero increases awarded consecutively in previous years. He said the town has played “catch up” since and doesn’t believe that a regional district would help reduce this. However, he did not write off the idea either.

“As a town, we were negligent and that’s what forced the big increases,” Pocock said. “The concept, I think the regional sewer idea is great.”

So who would partner? Cheshire’s sewer treatment plant lies just four miles from the town’s , Barry said, but it remains to be seen where else the town may have partners. A decision could only be made once all the facts are in, he cautioned.

Barry said if the costs to regionalize were not beneficial, he would ask the council to move on. He said he just wants to see the town conduct due diligence in exploring all options.

“We should be open to possibilities,” he said. “Maybe Cheshire is not interested and maybe some other towns would want to consider it. I would hope all parties involved would be open to meeting. We already use regionalization for our health district and probate court. It’s worth taking a look at.”