FAQ

WPCA

1. What is the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA)?
   The Water Pollution Control Authority (W.P.C.A.) was established in 1966 and is made up of seven (7) members and two (2) alternates appointed by the Town Council for a term of four (4) years. Its members are citizens of the Town who volunteer their time to oversee and implement policies created by the Authority to protect the operation of the sewerage system, the environment and ultimately public health. 
    
2. What are the roles and responsibilities of the WPCA?
   The Authority levies benefit assessments, establishes fair and reasonable sewer user charges, approves connections or expansions and applies for state and federal funds as authorized in the Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 103 and the Town of South Windsor Ordinances 103 and 150.
    
3. When does the WPCA meet?
   The Authority meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm at Town Hall.  Meetings are open to the public.  To be a part of the agenda an application needs to be submitted a minimum of 10 days prior to the meeting.

Water Pollution Control Facility

1. What is the Water Pollution Control Facility and where is it located?
   South Windsor’s wastewater treatment facility is located on Vibert Road.The facility processes an average 2.5 million gallons of wastewater per day.Once the water is processed it is discharged to the Connecticut River.
    
2. What do the wastewater operators do?
   The treatment plant staff is responsible for maintenance and operation of the facility along with 130 miles of sewer and 11 pump stations and ultimately the water quality that is discharged to the Connecticut River.
    
3. What are the biggest challenges that the operators face?
   The two biggest issues that our team deals with is FOG (Fats, Oil, and Grease) and synthetic wipes.FOG enters the waste stream through cooking grease, soaps, shampoos, detergents and cleaning projects.FOG accumulates in the sewer pipe, slowly choking the down the diameter of the pipe, which increases the probability of backup.Often times these backups are detected after the raw sewage has entered the environment or has backed up into a basement. The treatment plant staff have specialized equipment and training to break through the blockage and return the system to service

Synthetic wipes or “flushable wipes” are a system wide issue, often causing pumps to clog.Wipes do not breakdown in the wastewater and the interwoven synthetic fibers do not tear apart when they enter the pump impeller causing the pump’s efficiency to decrease significantly until it fails.When a pump fails, an alarm is sent out to notify the staff.

Both of these scenarios create inefficiency among our day to day activities and are costly when they occur outside normal working hours.