Water, Bugs, and Bureaucracy: A Blow-by-Blow of Farmington’s March Wastewater Meeting

In Farmington, Even the Wastewater Moves Faster Than the Traffic

Farmington, CT — April 9, 2025
The April Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) meeting opened with a brisk approval of the March 12, 2025 minutes and then dove headfirst into the literal muck. Over the next 90 minutes, board members and town staff covered high-efficiency treatment stats, busted pumps, a chemical violation at UConn, and multiple raccoons fleeing a flushed storm drain.

🛠️ System Performance: March by the Numbers

Farmington’s wastewater plant treated an average of 3.8 million gallons per day in March. Metrics held strong:

BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand): 96% removal
TSS (Total Suspended Solids): 98.6% removal
Ammonia: 0.5 mg/L
Nitrogen: 51 pounds under limit (82% removal)
Cake Solids: 22.7%

UV disinfection systems were brought online and phosphorus testing began. Results will be in the April report.

⚠️ Pump Station Roundup: Alarms, Rags, and Delays

Deadlift Station: A high-amp alarm triggered removal of a rag pile. Back online with no further issue.
Oakland: Power blip during a storm caused pump reset.
Hydro Station: A backup pump—delayed for two years due to a vendor death—was finally installed.
Harlan Road: Two floats replaced due to a faulty switch and possible wire pinch.
UConn Pump Station: Routine battery cable replacement… and then everything went sideways.

🍸 UConn and the Curious Case of the Boozy Bugs

UConn exceeded its MIU (Miscellaneous Industrial User) permit for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) by a factor of 60.

Permitted: 120 mg/L
Actual: 7,280 mg/L

Though volume (315 gallons/day) remained within limit, the substance—likely alcohol-based—acted as surprise food for the denitrifying bacteria. Plant staff noted a spike in dissolved oxygen, blower activity, and ammonia shortly before UConn reported the overage.

“It was either ethanol, methanol, or something that made the bugs real happy,” one operator remarked.

A dye test clocked the UConn discharge reaching the plant in 33 minutes—faster than you can cross Route 4 at rush hour. While no violation occurred on the town’s end, frustration is mounting over UConn’s quarterly-only sampling schedule and the lack of corrective urgency.

This isn’t Farmington’s first rodeo with UConn. Years ago, an alleged mercury discharge killed off biological processes at the plant. The response? “Oops, we thought we removed the mercury.”

🌧️ Storm Drains, Mountain Runoff, and One Too Many Raccoons

Stormwater MS4 compliance work continued:

Early morning jetting on Farmington Avenue near Starbucks, Garden Street, and Stop & Shop
Lake Garda system cleaned (light debris only)
Mountainside West & Hawthorne: American Rooter is clearing 250 feet of drain by weekend
Right-of-Way clearing resumed, weather permitting
Fog inspections: Sparrow Pizza, Subway, Taco Bell, Stadium 15, and Texas de Brazil

Two raccoons sprinted from a Plusha storm drain during a cleanout, suggesting it’s less a waterway and more a condo for woodland critters. Staff confirmed problematic drains are tracked and regularly flushed. Brickyard Road remains oddly flush-heavy with no discharge—possibly another wildlife nest.

🧰 Maintenance & Upgrades: From Epoxy Floors to Ammonia Probes

Significant in-house work and repairs were logged in March:

Borger Pump installed with new wiring and pipe refitting
Ammonia Probe replaced (original was ~30 years old)
Battery Backups added to polymer control cabinet
Effluent Totalizer reprogrammed to accept more digits
Intrinsic Barrier added to blend tank (fail-safe on float failure)
Compressor Auto Valve replaced in the transfer building
New Tripod acquired for confined-space OSHA compliance
E. coli Samples returned 4 and non-detect respectively
Nitrogen remained 51 pounds under annual permit
Floor Epoxied by staff—giving the treatment basement its first glow-up since the 2010s

🧪 PFAS, Permits, and Planning Ahead

The town continues testing for PFAS in solids, anticipating future regulation in the 4–10 parts per trillion range. No violations were reported.

Meter calibration is scheduled for May or June, ahead of the July 31 permit deadline.

💵 Administrative Wrap-Up

Fees were collected for:

Stephen Circle: $2,000
Forest Hills Drive: $1,000
Farmington Avenue (Assessment)
High Street Bridge

The board closed the meeting by confirming lateral connections for new homes on South and Wyoming Drives and joking about splash patterns left by improperly secured pressure pipes.

🏗️ This Report Sponsored by: Farmington Storage

155 Scott Swamp Road | Farmington, CT | 860.777.4001
Looking for a place to store your kayak, raccoon traps, or a backup Borger pump? Farmington Storage has you covered—just like the epoxy in the WPCA basement.
Tell them Jack Beckett sent you and you’ll probably get a shrug and a cup of stale coffee. Maybe.

✍️ Jack Beckett
Senior Writer, The Farmington Mercury
He’s fueled by Dunkin’ drip, wastewater data, and the creeping suspicion that the raccoons are unionizing.

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