CRMC approves WSA Sewer Connection Program

December 19, 2005, WARWICK— The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council recently approved the Warwick Sewer Authority’s Mandatory Sewer Connection Program. The program is consistent with the Greenwich Bay Special Area Management Plan (SAMP), which was adopted by the CRMC this past May.

In July 2000, the Council granted an assent to the Warwick Sewer Authority (WSA) requiring the development and implementation of a mandatory sewer connection program.

“The CRMC reviewed the proposed program and commends the WSA for developing a comprehensive effort to address sewer connection issues within the city,” CRMC Executive Director Grover Fugate wrote in a letter to the WSA’s Acting Director William Villella dated December 13. “Moreover, if the program is implemented as proposed, it will help to improve water quality in Greenwich Bay and reduce the incidence of bathing beach and shellfish harvesting closures.”

The permit for the sewer connection program will be modified to include the following conditions:

• Quarterly reports must be submitted by the Warwick Sewer Authority to the CRMC for the Phase I sewer connection rates until completed. These reports should also detail all aspects of the implementation program, including progress on proposed enforcement provisions.
• The WSA shall submit a proposal for Phase II for CRMC review and approval by July 1, 2007 to meet the Phase II target date of 2012, and a proposal for Phase III to the Council for review and approval by July 1, 2011 to meet that phase target date of 2015.

Section 470.3A of the Greenwich Bay Special Area Management Plan clearly demonstrates that there is a municipal as well as state mandate for sewer connections. This language reads as:

“The installation or replacement of existing ISDS is prohibited in areas where sanitary sewers are available in the Greenwich Bay watershed. Properties shall be tied into available sanitary sewers in these instances.

“New expanded development shall not be allowed where sanitary sewers are available unless the property is tied to the sewer system.”

Mandatory sewer hookups have been proposed by the Warwick Sewer Authority in Oakland Beach, Brushneck Cove, Apponaug Cove, West Watershed North, Warwick Cove and Buttonwoods Cove in Greenwich Bay. In accordance with the recommended policy action in the Greenwich Bay SAMP, the CRMC has also suggested that the Sewer Authority and city investigate the feasibility of implementing a Wastewater Management District for areas where it is not feasible to install sewers. A management district is a voluntary element. This is especially ideal for the Potowomut section of Warwick because of its isolation from the WSA sewer system.

“A Wastewater Management District would, depending on how it’s structured, establish routine inspections to identify cesspools and failing septic systems, and facilitate their replacement,” said CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. “This mandatory sewer connection program will greatly improve water quality in Greenwich Bay, and it is consistent with the goals set forth in the Greenwich Bay SAMP.”