Waste Water Treatment Plant Hardening Project to Protect Town’s Critical Capital Asset Against Flood
February 13, 2020
The Town of Fairfield is currently moving forward with a Capital Project at the Town’s Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) that will protect the plant against coastal storms and future sea level rise.
The “Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) Hardening Project” will protect the Town of Fairfield’s most critical capital asset against the 500-year coastal flood event and from future projected sea level rise. The proposed flood control structure consists of over 2,400 feet of cantilevered steel sheet pile walls that will surround not only the WWTP but the Regional Fire Training Facility, the Animal Control Shelter and the Conservation Workshop Building.
The project also involves elevating two portions of Richard White Way that will then be incorporated into the flood control structure. In addition, two storm water pump stations are proposed to be constructed within the protected area to remove rain water build up from within this diked area. The total cost of this project is $7.4 million with $3.33 million funded through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Developments’ (US HUD) Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery. Tighe and Bond Engineers, Shelton, CT are the design engineers and inspectors while Holzner Electric Construction Company, Bridgeport, CT has been selected as the construction contractor for this project.
This important project, taking over 5 years to obtain all required permitting and funding, is now expected to be completed by September 30, 2020. Permitting for this project was received from the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and both the Town of Fairfield Inland Wetlands Agency and Town Plan and Zoning Commission.
The WWTP Hardening Project will also provide the necessary protection for the WWTP Microgrid that is currently under construction. The Microgrid will provide power (via fuel cells, solar arrays and natural gas generators) to the WWTP during periods of power outages, insuring the WWTP will continue to operate uninterrupted during severe storm events. Funding for the $2.81 million WWTP Microgrid is provided entirely through US HUD. Schneider Electric has been selected as the construction contractor for this project and will be completed by the spring of 2021.
The project is slated to begin the week of February 9th, 2020. Additional information regarding the project including a detailed schedule can be found on the Town of Fairfield website: https://www.fairfieldct.org/sewer.
Questions regarding the plan can be directed to Brian Carey at bcarey@fairfieldct.org.
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