Contract operations help West Haven meet state regs
West Haven, Conn., is a residential community of 55,000 on 10 square miles bordering Long Island Sound. The city had experienced problems with its wastewater services over the years, primarily because of long-deferred maintenance of aging sewer lines — some of which were installed in the early 1900s — 13 pump stations and the secondary treatment facility.
Citing recurrent operational violations and odor complaints, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CDEP) ordered the community to fund $22 million in capital improvements and hire a Class IV certified wastewater operator to manage the system
So West Haven hired an engineering management consultant to supervise its system and provide a licensed operator, but local officials immediately found that bureaucratic constraints on a privately managed but publicly staffed operation limited potential for improvement.
“The new level of technology we’re investing into our wastewater system requires a higher degree of operator expertise,” says West Haven Mayor Richard Borer. “We felt that contract operations would provide us with the technical expertise needed to maintain regulatory compliance for our entire wastewater system, as well as reduce our operating costs.”
Following approval by the mayor and the state’s Financial Review Board, Professional Services Group, Houston, assumed operation of the system in October 1994 for a fixed annual cost, guaranteeing compliance with all local, state and federal regulations.
“We had already used contract operations for our tree department and yard waste compost site, but wastewater services are by far our largest public-private partnership,” Borer says. “I’m a proponent of putting services out to bid to see if the private sector can compete on both cost and delivery.”
The company offered employment to the city’s wastewater staff of 21 and successfully negotiated a comparable wage and benefits package with the group’s union.
A comprehensive employee training and development program for former city staffers helped increase operator skills, and programs such as tuition reimbursement for continuing education and bonuses for achieving higher levels of operator certification were instituted.
The switch to full contract OM&M eliminated much of the bureaucratic red tape that had limited the efficiency of West Haven’s wastewater services in the past.
For example, complex purchasing procedures were streamlined to allow emergency-status projects to be completed quickly and efficiently.
Additionally, a comprehensive safety program was instituted, and monthly safety meetings keep employees abreast of basic First Aid and proper operational procedures, such as those for confined-space and hazardous communications.
A computerized maintenance program at the treatment facility schedules and prioritizes maintenance functions to ensure that projects with potential impact on regulatory compliance are assigned top priority. An aggressive preventive maintenance program has all but eliminated sewer overflows and NPDES permit violations, a recurrent problem in the past.
To help curb odors and reduce overflows from the city’s collection system, wetwell levels in the 13 pump stations were reduced, and regular cleaning was instituted.
Industries that discharge strong effluent and cause odor problems at the pump stations are now being identified.
Additionally, the increased technical expertise is ensuring the proper operation of the treatment plant’s new nitrification/dentrification system, completed earlier this year in anticipation of more stringent CDEP regulations.
