$40 Million Sewer Referendum Likely on the Horizon

When work was last done on the town’s water pollution control facility, officials anticipated it would be due for a major update in about 20 years. That was in 1995.

Now, Town Manager Kathy Eagen is predicting the Water Pollution Control Authority will recommend an upgrade of the facility be put to a bond referendum in the next year to 18 months. 

The estimated cost of the upgrade project is $52 million, with about $11 million covered by state grants.

But because Farmington operates the regional wastewater collection system, processing wastewater from Avon, Canton and Burlington, it will get a little help paying for the project.

“The town of Avon is a larger contributor, based on an agreement from 1970 and amended 10 years ago. Based on the flow and calculations, it could be $2-3 million,” Arnold said, though he wasn’t sure of the numbers. “Plainville is a small contributor and Burlington probably doesn’t have to buy in.”

Other entities with high usage, like the UConn Health Center, may be asked to contribute as well. 

The costs are not yet finalized, Arnold said, though a plan for the facilities upgrade has been made through a 2009 Facilities Plan Study. The WPCA hired a consultant to complete the study, which has been accepted both by the WPCA and by the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

A joint meeting of the Town Council and the WPCA will likely be held in early spring to discuss the issue.

As with the recent decision on how to approach the installation of sewers in some neighborhoods, the Town Council serves as the finance authority on the issue, while the WPCA makes the policy decision.