Sewer pipe work will proceed, after ‘yes’ vote

NORTH CANAAN — Funding for a sewer pipe rehabilitation project in the town center was approved at a Canaan Fire District (CFD) meeting on Monday, Nov. 2.

The project is expected to cost as much as $2.5 million, including planning and design. The goal is to have newly cleaned pipes relined with the latest in resin technology to seal them as tightly as possible.

A public hearing and meeting to follow had been scheduled for Oct. 30. However, there was not a quorum of 15 needed to call a vote.

Monday night’s meeting at Town Hall brought out 18 people, including members of the CFD executive board. Voters must live in the district and/or own at least $1,000 worth of assessed property within the district, which is defined by where there is sewer service.

During the 15-minute hearing, CFD Warden Tony Nania explained that nearly half of the approximately 400,000 gallons that comes into the sewer treatment plant daily is ground and rain water seeping into pipes.

The pipes were well-maintained, but were installed as early as 1904, when the district was established, Nania said. Resealing them will save water and money. A contractor is currently cleaning and filming the entire system so that there will be no surprises during the sealing phase.

Much of the funding will come from a federal grant of $1.184 million. Nania called it very generous and said it is the highest ratio of grant to financing they have had for any project to date.

The plan includes borrowing $629,000. A 40-year bank loan at 2 percent has already been approved.

As was pointed out at the meeting, the numbers add up to $700,000 short of the $2.5 million.

Nania said the appropriation is for more than they expect to need. The approved resolution allows for spending up to that number.

“As with any project, there can be unexpected costs and change orders,” Nania said. “For example, we found that on Bragg Street there were more pipes than we thought that needed repair. It is better to dig up the entire street and replace all the pipes. That’s an extra $100,000 plus paving.”

On the other hand, he added, project bids came in about $300,000 lower than the projected cost. That allowed for a new ultraviolet disinfection system to be installed, replacing a 20-year-old one, at the sewer plant.

“The process kills all the bacteria organisms in the treated effluent, so while you still may not want to drink it, it’s pure water when it is discharged into the Blackberry River.”

The resolution allows CFD to issue “mini bonds.” The initial buyer will be the federal government, which may or may not sell the bonds.

CFD operates as a municipality, and taxes (at a current mill rate of two) to help meet a variety of expenses and projects, such as sidewalks, hydrants and streetlights. Properties hooked up to the sewer pay an annual user fee.

Resident Marty McKay asked what the project will cost the average taxpayer.

Nania said annual bond payments will be about $23,000. There are 1,123 taxable properties in the district (about half of the entire town), but more taxpayers because some properties, such as apartment buildings, have multiple residences. He estimated an annual tax increase per taxpayer of $1.50 to $2.

There was also a discussion of how volume of use factors in. CFD has long approached it in the simplest way: in units. The average household uses about 50,000 gallons of water per year, which can be used to closely estimate discharge to the sewer. CFD only charges per gallon beyond the 200,000 gallon mark.

“Aquarion [Water Company] can now provide exact numbers,” Nania said. “But we will still use a flat fee. It helps subsidize large families to some extent, like they do at the school, and now, they would charge us for providing those numbers.”