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Date: 11/3/2022
SOUTHWICK — The results of the Master Plan survey filled out by more than 900 Southwick residents showed mixed feelings about the possible expansion of the town’s sewer system, depending on the neighborhood.
The Sewer Implementation Committee met Oct. 24 to review the data relating to Southwick’s sewer system from the Master Plan survey. Committee Chair Randy Brown said the responses from some neighborhoods gave him some encouragement that sewer expansion can still take place.
Of the 900 survey respondents, 77 percent said that they are not connected to Southwick’s sewer system. Those people likely mostly rely on individual septic systems on their properties. Of those who did not have a sewer connection, 46.3 percent said they were interested in possibly having their property connected, while 51.9 percent said they were not interested. Though fewer than half of respondents expressed interest, Brown said it was better than he expected.
“I thought sewers were a dead deal in town. I had a little bit of hope when I saw these numbers,” said Brown.
Town Meeting voters have rejected several large expansions to the sewer system over the past 10 years. Town officials pushed for new sewer lines in the Powder Mill Road area, along Congamond Road and adjoining properties along College Highway, but failed to receive public support. The system was expanded to serve the public school campus, but without connections to nearby houses.
Brown, who is also the town’s public works director, said Phase 1 of the project was nearly complete when work ceased due to the lack of public support. Three phases had been planned.
Current interest in sewer connections varied wildly by neighborhood. On the north end of College Highway, for example, 81 percent of respondents were interested in a sewer connection. On College Highway’s south side, just 37.8 percent were interested. With those two exceptions, other neighborhoods in town largely expressed interest at rates between 40 percent and 60 percent.
Brown said that it would make sense for the town to focus on the neighborhoods where there is a proportionally high interest in sewer connections, if the system is to be expanded at all.
“We recognize that we are dealing with limited data, but it is a start,” said Brown. “The next step might be for us to gather opinions from everyone in those neighborhoods.”
Sewer infrastructure can be built out into different neighborhoods, but it is up to individual property owners to decide if they want their own connection in those neighborhoods.
One of the main benefits proponents of the sewer system often tout is how much they help in keeping Congamond Lake clean. Many properties on Southwick’s side of Congamond Lake are connected to the sewer system. The town of Suffield, CT, which sits on the opposite shore of the lake, did a feasibility study last year, Brown said, which explored the possibility of connections to the sewer system on that side of the lake.
Though Brown said he has not had formal discussions yet with officials from Suffield, he did get the sense in informal discussions that such a project may be “way too expensive” for Suffield right now. The possibility remains for a connection between the two towns in the future, Brown said, but it is unlikely to take place soon, while construction costs remain elevated.