741 Colonel Ledyard Highway

Ledyard, Connecticut 06339

TOWN OF LEDYARD

Water Pollution Control Authority

Meeting Minutes

Chairman

Ed Lynch

Regular Meeting

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

6:30 PM

Council Chambers - Hybrid

CALL TO ORDER

ROLL CALL

II.

Board Member Terry Jones

Board Member Stanley Juber

Present

Board Member Monir Tewfik

Board Member Sharon Wadecki

Board Member Edmond Lynch

Alternate Member James A. Ball

Alternate Member Tony Capon

Excused

Alternate Member Jeremy Norris

Non-voting

Jeremy Norris present via Zoom.

Also in attendance:

Mauricio Duarte, GU General Foreman Water Operations

III.

IV.

APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES

Not needed.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

RESIDENTS & PROPERTY OWNERS

Residents and Property Owners.

John Williams was present to speak about an 86,000-gallon water leakage on his daughter's

property at 19 Tom Allyn Court. Mr. Williams said his daughter and grandchildren are living

with him, therefore the home on Tom Allyn Court is unoccupied. He visits the Allyn Court

residence daily to feed his daughter's rabbits. Mr. Williams received a call from Tina Daniels,

Groton Utilities Customer Service General Manager reporting unusual water usage. He didn't

remember the exact date of the call, but believed it was between April 29th and May 2nd. Mr.

Williams called in a contractor to investigate but no leaks were found. Maurico Duarte, Groton

Utilities General Foreman Water Operations reported that GU visited the residence on May 21st

and replaced the box and meter. After replacement, the old meter was brought back to the shop

and tested but no faults were found. Mr. Williams said there was no unusual water usage after

the meter was replaced. Mr. Williams was baffled as to where the leak was and where the water

went. A leaky toilet was suggested as a possible cause of the leak. Mr. Williams said the house is

silent since there are no occupants, and he would have noticed a running toilet during his daily

visits. Also, Mr. Williams said it was not logical that the leak disappeared on its own. Chairman

Lynch said the challenge the Authority faces is that 86,000 gallons of water went through the

meter and the Authority can't just "write it off" or pass the cost onto other customers, whether

the cause is a mystery or not. Mr. Williams was told that a payment plan could be arranged. Mr.

Williams said, "you have done everything you possibly can, thank you very much" and left the

meeting at 6:51 p.m.

VI.

REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes from Regular Meeting June 25, 2024.

Amend to add a note under agenda item # 4 under Old Business (Motion to APPROVE payment

to Weston & Samson invoice #4241190, dated April 8, 2024, in the amount of $9850.00, for Phase

III Sewer line upgrade) stating that no action was taken, and the item was left tabled.

Chairman Lynch elaborated that no action was taken because he communicated with Weston &

Sampson about the deliverables, and they acknowledged that the deliverables were never

received and understood why it was tabled.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Edmond Lynch

RESULT:

MOVER:

Terry Jones

SECONDER:

Jones Juber Tewfik Wadecki Lynch Ball

Capon

AYE

EXCUSED

VII. COMMUNICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE

Operations Report.

Monitoring of the Ledyard Multi use bike path continues. Groton Utilities recently completed

the "cut in" for the hydrant that was relocated near Fairway Drive.

Chairman Lynch asked why the moving of the hydrants on the trail is taking so long. Mr. Duarte

answered that two have already been moved; the one on Fairway and the one near the Bill

Library. The last one needing to be moved is located on Colby Road.

Mr. Juber asked what water sources are blended when lowering THMs. Mr. Duarte said a natural

spring source and well water is used.

Annual hydrant flushing is complete for both Ledyard Center and Gales Ferry.

GU turned on two metered locations to improve water quality in the Water Distribution System.

DISCUSSED

Service Correspondence.

RESULT:

Aged Reports/Finance.

Nothing unusual in the reports.

Year to Date Water/Sewer Report.

No comments.

PSR - Steve Banks.

A bid waiver request was sent to the Town Council for a Rotary Drum Thickener panel

replacement which is a necessary and vital upgrade to the Highlands WWTF. The adjustable

frequency drives and associated electrical components are obsolete and need to be replaced. This

is part of the ARPA fund program.

A meeting was held with Weston and Sampson, and they will be providing a definitive

construction cost on Phase III (main extension from Ledyard High School to Pennywise).

Chairman Lynch pointed out that the Cummins emergency generator water pump went down on

July 3rd. Because parts were not available until the following Monday a 175 kW generator was

rented until the parts came in and the unit was repaired. DB Electric will provide a quote to

purchase a standby portable generator. Possibility to use some of the surplus ARPA money. This

would be a trailer mounted unit which all Town departments potentially could use.

The Town of Ledyard Planning Department is currently receiving some plans for development in

Ledyard Center and Gales Ferry. Presently, there is capacity for around 50,000 - 60,000 gallons

at the Highlands Wastewater Treatment Facility. The Ledyard Center projects will need to

provide the WPCA with accurate estimates of flow so it can be determined which projects would

be allowed to discharge to the plant. The last infiltration study was completed over twenty years

ago. A significant amount of infiltration was eliminated by replacing manhole covers, relining

manholes, capping at grade cleanouts, and relining a few sections of pipe. Relining the

remaining pipe is the next step in this process. This would be a significant and costly effort to

further reduce the effects of infiltration and loading of the plant

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

VIII. OLD BUSINESS

Water Report Review continued.

Chairman Lynch asked Groton Utilities for reports to provide the number of billable gallons, the

number of metered gallons on Route 117 and the cost of the metered gallons on Route 117. He

reported a few issues found in the raw data. There are inconsistencies in the billing, for example

the water rate charges for Route 12 and Route 117 are different. Some water is lost in flushing,

leaks and possibly un-metered residents but this amount of loss appears to be excessive. Mr.

Jones suggested comparing a list of all Ledyard properties to the customer list to see the

discrepancies, although there will be some exceptions for homes in the service area but using a

well.

DISCUSSED

Review of Trail/Sewer line continued.

RESULT:

Chairman Lynch said the sewer project will be over budget because $200,000.00 worth of back

fill will need to be purchased for trenches that are 6.5 feet out and 4 feet down. A change control

will need to be completed.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Lead Survey Review and Grant Submittal.

Groton Utilities is still proceeding with the survey.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Lakeside Association Agreement.

The pumps at Lakeside need to be replaced since they can no longer be repaired. After some

discussion it was determined that agreement states that the WPCA is responsible for

maintenance and replacement of the pumps as stated, "the Town will own and maintain the eight

(8") sewer lines and the pump station location on the Association property".

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Rotary Drum Thickener Panel update.

A bid waiver request was sent to the Town Council.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

17 Inchcliffe Drive lead results.

The lead inspection was completed, and the investigative samples met the CT Department of

Public Health's water quality standards.

COMPLETED

RESULT:

Any Other Old Business to Come Before the Commission.

None.

IX.

NEW BUSINESS

Sweet Hill Acres intent to supply water.

Chairman Lynch reported that he signed an "ability to serve" for Sweet Hill Acres on Military

Highway.

Discuss Trail/Sewer line Phase II design.

Motion to APPROVE payment to Groton Utilities invoice #0024130, dated June 30, 2024, in the

amount of $125.93, for materials.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Edmond Lynch

RESULT:

MOVER:

Sharon Wadecki

SECONDER:

Jones Juber Tewfik Wadecki Lynch Ball

Capon

AYE

EXCUSED

Motion to APPROVE payment to Groton Utilities invoice #0024132, dated June 30, 2024, in the

amount of $194.94, for lead inventory.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Edmond Lynch

RESULT:

MOVER:

Sharon Wadecki

SECONDER:

Jones Juber Tewfik Wadecki Lynch Ball

Capon

AYE

EXCUSED

Any Other New Business to Come Before the Commission.

Ti-Sales invoice.

Motion to APPROVE payment to Ti-Sales invoice # INV0172919, dated July 12, 2024, in the

amount of $2,800.00, for Neptune R900 RF Endpoint Wall Mount V4.

It was noted that these 20 meters will be used for stock inventory.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Edmond Lynch

RESULT:

MOVER:

Sharon Wadecki

SECONDER:

Jones Juber Tewfik Wadecki Lynch Ball

Capon

AYE

EXCUSED

ADJOURNMENT

Motion to ADJOURN the Regular Meeting at 7:35 p.m.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Sharon Wadecki

RESULT:

MOVER:

James A. Ball

SECONDER:

Jones Juber Tewfik Wadecki Lynch Ball

Capon

AYE

EXCUSED

DISCLAIMER: Although we try to be timely and accurate these are not official records of the

Town.