Neighbors Concerned Sewer Project Will Impact Flooding, Contamination in Chickahominy

A hearing was held Thursday by Greenwich Tree Warden Dr. Greg Kramer about the Town’s Sewer Division request to remove 18 trees on town property along Booth Court in Chickahominy.

The trees have a range of varieties, and 13 of them are of 10″ diameter at breast height (DBH), which refers to the standard measure of trunk diameter at 4.5 ft or higher.

Richard Feminella, wastewater division manager for the Town’s Sewer Division, and engineer Kristie Wagner from CDM Smith explained that a sewer line dating back to the 1930s needed to be replaced and tree removal was necessary.

He said the pipe conveys wastewater in the area of Holly Hill and through town property behind the transfer station along Booth Court. The wastewater comes from a portion of the Post Rd, Weaver Street, Western Jr Highway, Greenwich Office Park, the surrounding residential and mixed use properties.

Feminella described the section of pipe as a gravity sanitary sewer main of 18″ diameter and that it unfortunately decreases to 12″, creating a bottleneck adjacent to wetlands and Tom’s Brook, before increasing to 21″ and 24″ diameter.

The pipe in this area flows full in some peak conditions, conveying over 1 million gallons per day.

He said the pipe was fabricated from clay tile, and portions are believed to be encased in concrete.

In all, about 370 feet of the 12″ diameter pipe is planned to be up-sized to 18.”

He said during the design process, alternatives to “open cut” had been rejected because of subsurface conditions, slope and proximity to wetlands and watercourse.

He described “open cut” as the traditional method of digging the current trench, removing the existing pipe, replacing it with the proper size pipe, and finally back filling and restoring landscape.

“It can’t be overstated that if we were to have a failure…we could have a situation where there’s a break…and if it gets overwhelmed it’s coming out the manhole structures and you’d wind up getting raw sewage going into Tom’s Brook, which is a significant environmental health and safety concern,” Feminella said.

Mr. Feminella said the area posted for tree removal was in the work zone and also necessary for construction vehicle access.

“In a gravity sewer system, the standard is that pipes increase in size as they move downstream, they do not decrease in size,” he added.

Mr. Feminella said the sewer Division was committed to preserving trees where feasible and planting new ones after construction, in consultation with the tree warden.

Tree Conservancy

Advocacy chair for the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, Francia Alvarez, asked if the route could be shifted sideways in order to maintain important trees or possibly leave the existing sewer main in the ground.

She said green space and trees were valuable, especially given the history history of flooding at the bottom of the Booth Place which features a steep hill where rain descends into the wetlands area and homes on Both Court.

“Five drains had been replaced on Booth Court and post-paving, homes were flooded approximately six times with 36″ of water,” Alvarez said. “A number of years later the paving company came back and redirected the water. Taking down those trees could contribute to new flooding.”

She said a one-to-one replacement of the trees would be inadequate given 13 of the trees are of 10 DBH or larger.

GTC director Kate Dzikiewicz described the area as a coastal flooding zone, adjacent to a wetlands, and was already facing numerous floods. She noted trees were one of the best methods to mitigate flooding.

Dzikiewicz asked that the town consider all alternatives to trenching in the flood prone, ecologically sensitive area.

Mr. Feminella explained that the pipe is a sanitary sewer main for waste water flows, and is not part of a drainage network.

He said Greenwich’s storm drainage system for  rainfall and groundwater, was separate from the sewer system.

“What we’re talking about for this project is solely related to the sewer,” he said. “The DPW is involved with drainage matters, and that’s a concern, but nothing we’re doing is related to storm drainage.”

They said the “pipe bursting” method, which would instead break up the existing pipe and thread a new pipe through, had been evaluated but was not feasible due to inconsistent soil and rock conditions.

He said there were spots where the pipe is encased in concrete with rock underneath and there is absolute minimum slope.

He said re-routing was not an option either due to proximity to Tom’s Brook and the inland wetlands area, as well as the existence of rock in the area. Also he said, to excavate a new trench would be more disruptive and require more equipment and a longer construction duration than the estimated one-month for the project as proposed.

Ms Wagner from CDM Smith said, “Years ago when we first looked at this project, at one point we had a concept to realign it to fill and abandon the old pipe and leave it there, but when we realized what the rock profile was – it’s a substantial technical challenge to overcome.”

Ms Dzikiewicz asked if the wetlands agency had been consulted.

Mr. Feminella said someone from wetlands had reviewed the project and communicated with the neighbors.

“We don’t like having to touch trees,” Feminella said. “Most of our work happens in roadways.”

Public Comment
During public comment, Dawn Fortunato, a resident of Booth Court, asked if the town had consulted Connecticut DEEP.

For many years Ms Fortunato has insisted that the neighborhood is contaminated as a result of the town incinerator having burned waste and deposited ash in the area through 1977, after which it was dismantled. She said contamination included heavy metals and PCBs.

“How are we mitigating the soil and water? Are we going to cause a disturbance if these trees are removed? How is our health going to be safeguarded?” she asked.

Fortunato said standards for remediating soil and groundwater are administered by DEEP, especially when a project involves disturbing contaminated land in an area she said was known to be polluted.

Undated photo of the incinerator at what is now the Holly Hill Resource Recovery Facility.

Mr. Feminella said the project involved critical infrastructure utility replacement, and replacing a sewer main did not require DEEP approval.

Rather, he said his understanding was that the contractor will use proper erosion and sediment control, excavates and disposes material in accordance with regulations, and lastly uses proper fill and restores the area.

“It is essential to verify whether Greenwich has coordinated with DEEP regarding disturbing contaminated soil,” Fortunato said. “There are soil reports on file that show that we have various heavy metals and PBCs. That used to be a brook down there before it was piped many moons ago.”

As for neighborhood flooding, Fortunato said the housing authority playground now floods after it rains, but had not in the past.

And, she echoed Ms Alvarez, saying that when Booth Court was repaved, it had been pitched incorrectly.

“That’s why the five drains went in: to stop us from flooding,” Fortunato said.

“What are we going to do to ensure you have the blessing from CT DEEP before we start disturbing this contaminated soil?” she asked.

Ms Wagner from CDM Smith replied, “We don’t have specific information on soil being contaminated here, but we will look into it.”

She echoed Mr.Feminella, saying the contractor would get the appropriate permits.

Fortunato noted that at Western Middle School, which also abuts the property, recent remediation work took six years to complete.

“We are aware there are heavy metals there because there are soil reports that there are heavy metals and PCBs on that property,” she said. “If you read the reports, you will find that it is contaminated. I want to know what we’re doing to safeguard our health and safety here.”

“We will owe you follow-up on that,” Wagner said.

“It’s not a remediation project,” Feminella said. “It’s a utility replacement project. If the sewer main fails that’s obviously a significant health and safety concern. You can’t let sewage go into the brook.”

“This is the only Census Tract,” Fortunato said. “It’s where the most vulnerable reside.”

Tree Warden Dr. Kramer said there was agreement that more investigation needed to be done.

Another neighbor, Leokadia Lauersdorf of 22 Booth Court, said, “I’m worried about the contaminated soil. Once you dig that up and pull trees and roots out, you’re putting those particles back into the air. Regardless if you take the soil out and replace it. I think we need the DEEP to come in and authorize the removal of those trees. They’re very healthy.”

She agreed the housing authority playground at Armstrong Court did not previously experience flooding.

“You might as well have all of these residents move out for fear of contamination and fear of flooding. Who is going to pay?” she asked. “Right across from my house right now it’s already flooding.”

Dr. Kramer closed the public comments and said he would prepare a written determination on the tree removals within 3 business days, and anyone aggrieved would be entitled to appeal it within 10 days to state superior court.