Killingly town in US decides on $25.8m wastewater treatment plant upgrade

Voters of Killingly town in Windham County, Connecticut, US, will decide on 9 September 2014 whether to approve a $25.8m upgrade to the town’s 40-year-old wastewater treatment plant, which will involve higher sewer bills.

The upgrading project at the wastewater treatment plant includes replacing aging infrastructure and tweaking the systems that filter nitrogen and phosphorous to comply with stringent state and federal discharge regulations.

The project also involves funds to demolish the abandoned Danielson borough water treatment plant, which includes several 70-year-old buildings near the town’s Little League field complex on Wauregan Road.

Under the project, a pump station in Rogers will also be upgraded, according to norwichbulletin.com.

If approved, construction under the project is expected to be initiated in 2015 and take around two years to complete.

A state grant will be used to cover 20% of the project’s cost, while the remaining will be paid using a low-interest loan from the state Clean Water Fund, which has a payback period of more than 20 years.

The early proposal has placed the repayment cost only on sewer system users, through a user rate increase of 12.5% per annum over four years.

Currently, the average sewer use bill for single-family homes is around $316, so in that arrangement, the loan repayment would add a total of $202 to the average user’s bill, in increments of approximately $50.

The Town Council has approved an option that if the town contributes 10% towards the loan repayment, it would reduce the overall four-year rate increase by around $20.

By agreeing to the option, the town will contribute $144,000 for the first year of the loan, which will see a decrease for the next 19 years.