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David Day
Public Utilities Superintendent
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Address:
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Newtown Road
Danbury, CT 06810
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Telephone:
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203-797-4539
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Superintendent's Report:
The Public Utilities Division is responsible for operating and maintaining the City of Danbury’s Water Division, water utility infrastructure, and sanitary sewer infrastructure, which includes several large water supply dams, closed landfill, and landfill gas collection system. We also administer programs for recycling and disposal of solid waste. The Public Utilities Division is responsible for maintaining the majority of the city’s fleet of vehicles, and the entire fleet of Police Department patrol vehicles.
The Public Utilities Division oversees the contract operation of the city’s Water Pollution Control Plant in accordance with the Wastewater Treatment Facility Service Agreement between the City of Danbury and Veolia Water North America. The Public Utilities Division also oversees the contract operation of a public yard waste management processing center, located on Plumtrees Road, in accordance with the agreement between the City of Danbury and Total Landscaping and Tree Service.
Public Utilities staffing presently consists of 36 positions, including the Superintendent. Division staffing consists of administrative and customer service personnel, water and sewer utility maintenance and construction personnel, water treatment personnel, water quality and technical services personnel, and vehicle and equipment maintenance personnel.
The superintendent and his staff have kept the sewer and water infrastructure up and running while providing the lowest user rates in the state. The Public Utilities Division has recently been inundated with compliance reporting requirements to various state and federal agencies.
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Water:
About us:
The Danbury Water Division (DWD) focuses on its core mission which is, “To provide our customers with adequate quantities of high quality water that meets or exceeds the standards established for the protection of public health, as well as provide sufficient fire flow for the protection of public and private property.
The DWD presently produces about 7.0 million gallons of water per day through daily management of a water supply system that consists of 8 reservoirs, 1 well site, 2 water treatment plants, 14 pump stations, 8 storage tanks, 200 miles of water pipe and 1800 fire hydrants. Our water’s quality is continually verified through 24 hour monitoring by water plant operators and through daily testing.
Our accomplishments:
The DWD presently produces about 7.0 million gallons of water per day through daily management of a water supply system that consists of 8 reservoirs, 1 well site, 2 water treatment plants, 14 pump stations, 8 storage tanks, 200 miles of water pipe and 2000 fire hydrants. Our water’s quality is continually verified through 24 hour monitoring by water plant operators and through daily testing. About 27,000 water tests are performed annually to monitor water quality. Approximately 11,000 water service line meters are in place and are used to bill customers for water use. The current population of customers served by the DWD is approximately 64,000 people.
Annual inspection and routine maintenance of our 8 water supply dams continue to ensure that they remain in good condition. Improvements to our plants treating our water supply include upgrades to our chemical feed systems, water pumping equipment, and water monitoring equipment. We continue to actively work with the city’s Fire Department to ensure fire hydrants are annually tested and repaired and replaced as needed.
In our search for additional sources of water supply we have identified 10 specific water supply projects to increase our existing safe yield. Of these projects the additional pumping of the Kenosia Well Field is the most practical short term project which we will pursue in order to serve the Danbury area as well as assist with regional needs.
Sewer:
About us:
The Sewer Division has a mission “To provide the City of Danbury and the neighboring Region with sound disposal and treatment methods for wastewater and septic system wastes to ensure the protection of human health and the preservation of the environment”.
The Danbury Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) provides wastewater and septage treatment for Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, Ridgefield, and Newtown, and also accepts septage from New Fairfield, Redding, and Bridgewater, and some out of region towns
Our accomplishments:
The Danbury Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) provides wastewater and septage treatment for Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, Ridgefield, and Newtown, and also accepts septage from New Fairfield, Redding, and Bridgewater, and some out of region towns. The WPCP currently treats an average wastewater flow of 9 million gallons per day and an average septage load of 12 million gallons per year. In addition to WPCP operations, oversight of the sanitary sewer collection system involves operation and maintenance of 19 sewer pump stations, 164 miles of sewer line, and 4,500 sewer manholes.
Construction of the $3.1 million West Side Sewer Interceptor Project – Phase I will be completed in January 2012. This project will help reduce the current and future flows on existing sewer infrastructure, allow for the service of existing residential communities located next to Kenosia Lake, and allow for future development within the western section of Danbury.
The implementation of our capacity, management, operation, and maintenance (CMOM) programs for our sanitary sewer collection system has helped reduce the occurrence of sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) events. A fats, oils, and grease (FOG) prevention program is being developed to help reduce the amount of FOG discharged by food preparation establishments and other customers into our sewer system. A reduction of FOG discharges will help reduce SSO events from occurring in our sewer collection system.
The successful operation of our WPCP’s interim nitrogen removal facility by Veolia Water has resulted in a net savings of $300,000 vs. the cost of purchasing nitrogen credits had the system not been operating. We are also pursuing the use of reclaimed methanol at this facility to help further reduce the cost of operating this system by $30,000 or more per year.
The WPCP Nutrient Reduction Facilities Plan will be completed this year and will be instrumental in identifying facility upgrades necessary to reduce nutrient loadings of total nitrogen and total phosphorus to new effluent standards required by the CT DEP and the Federal EPA.
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Recycling & Solid Waste
About us:
The Recycling and Solid Waste Division has a mission, “To administer programs, which provide Danbury residents with environmentally sound methods for management of solid waste”.
The division oversees the operation of the yard waste management program as well as coordinates Regional Household Hazardous Waste Collection events in our city.
Our accomplishments:
In 2011 we helped implement the city’s Electronic (E) Waste Recycling Program which now allows residents to drop-off of E-Waste at the Winters Brothers site at 307 White Street throughout the year.
The Public Utilities Division continues to operate the Landfill Gas Collection and Treatment Facility in compliance with the Department of Environmental Protection permits and regulatory standards. The Danbury Landfill is a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Interim Status land disposal site and has been closed since 1997. In order to satisfy RCRA requirements, Danbury is applying for a CT DEP Stewardship Permit to terminate interim status, consolidate all closure requirements of the landfill under a single permit, and define end points for the continued long term operation of this closed disposal site.