What is a prohibited connection?
An unauthorized connection (direct or indirect) to the Town's sewer system that introduces inflow into the system that it is not designed to handle. Examples include:
- Inside a building: sump pump or floor drain that is directly connected to the building's sewer service
- Outside a building: yard drain, driveway drain or roof leader that is connected to the building's sewer service.
What is the difference between a stormwater system and the sewer system? Aren't they the same thing?
These are two completely separate systems:
- A stormwater system typically consists of underground pipes, manholes and catch basins that collect rainwater and snow melt and transport it to a water body or resource area.
- A sewer system typically consists of underground pipes and manholes that transport wastewater from homes and businesses to a wastewater treatment plant.
My home is nowhere near Bonham Rd or Greensboro Rd where these sewer backups are occurring, so why does my home need to be inspected?
All 1,600± properties share the same network of pipes. The wastewater from your property, along with the other 1,600± properties, accumulate along its path to the Town’s connection to the MWRA’s trunk line located behind Sherman Road.
I am not comfortable with consultants entering my home. Will I be penalized for this?
No. If you are not comfortable with consultants entering your home, you have the following options:
- Request Police detail be present outside the home during the duration of the inspection (at no cost to you)
- Hire a licensed plumber in the State of MA to conduct the inspection according to the Town's regulations and then send the report on their company's letterhead to our consultants within 30 days.
Failure to utilize either of these options will result in a $50 per quarter penalty assessed to your sewer bill until an inspection is completed.
What gives the Town the right to inspect my private property?
According to Section 4.6 of the Town’s Sewer Regulations, no property that has a connection to the Town’s sewer system shall connect any drains (foundation, driveway, yard, etc.) or sump pumps to the public sewer. The Town reserves the right to inspect any property with a sewer connection to confirm that there are no prohibited connections.
What will happen if I am not home when the inspectors come to my door?
The consultants will leave a "Sorry We Missed You Notice" which will contain a phone number and email address for you to use to schedule your inspection within the next 30 days, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8AM and 7PM.
What if the consultants find building code violations (plumbing, electrical, etc.) or zoning/bylaw violations while performing their inspection?
The consultants performing the inspections do not have experience in building code and/or Town zoning/bylaws. The consultants are specially trained in looking for and reporting prohibited connections. The consultants will not be looking for or reporting on anything else.
Will I receive a copy of the inspection once it is completed?
Yes, you will a receive a copy of the inspection report once the program is complete.
My property was inspected in 2014. Why do I have to have my property inspected again?
The Town appreciates your participation in 2014, but since it has been 10 years since that program was conducted, the Town needs to re-inspect your property to confirm what was observed in 2014. This round of inspections will provide a new, complete data set to determine next steps and proposed plans to address the ongoing issues reported by residents in the project area.
Is the Town planning on doing these inspections every 10 years?
The Town does not have plans to repeat these inspections every 10 years. There were only approx. 316 properties that participated in 2014. These properties are only being re-inspected to determine nothing has changed since our inspection in 2014.
What will happen should the Town Manager and Select Board not approve/support the proposed door-to-door inspection program?
Should this program not be approved/supported, the Town will continue to find opportunities to identify and remove I/I flow from the public sewer system, but this will likely not mitigate and/or prevent future private property backups and roadway surcharge events. A program put in place by State regulatory agencies may require more rapid compliance (shorter timeframe to address) and may come at a higher cost to ratepayers without incentives or amnesties.
If the program goes forward and the prohibited connected are discovered to be the cause of the sewer backups, what are the next steps for the Town?
If prohibited connections are determined to be the cause of the ongoing sewer backups, the Town will develop a plan to have those connections disconnected and redirected to the appropriate source. In a perfect world, all prohibited connections would be redirected to the Town's stormwater system. Without this definitive answer, the following are possible next steps for the Town (all offered as a "for instance" since no final determination has been made):
- Design and install the necessary stormwater infrastructure for streets that do not have stormwater infrastructure so that prohibited connections can be properly redirected.
- Properties located where there is high groundwater will have to connect to the Town stormwater system.
- Properties located where the groundwater is low may need to install a drywell and connect the that.
I have a prohibited connection and participated in the program. Will I have to pay to have my connection fixed?
Once the Town has a full understanding of the results of the study, the consultants will prepare a report outlining their recommendations on the best way to redirect the prohibited connections to the appropriate sources. The Town will then develop a program to have the private property prohibited connections redirected. It is unknown how this could potentially impact a property owner financially, but the Town will make every effort to find other funding sources to defray costs away from property owners. If any program is developed that provides a financial incentive to property owners, only owners that participated in the program will be able to take advantage of that incentive program.
I am against the program and refuse to participate. What should I expect?
Failure to participate in the program will result in a penalty of $50 per quarter applied to your sewer bill until the inspection occurs, and you may be assessed an additional $250/day and a civil penalty up to $5,000 if a prohibited connection is eventually discovered. Owners that do not participate will also not be eligible for the one-time, $25 credit on their sewer bill and will not be eligible for any financial assistance that may be available for the removal of prohibited connections in the future.
Do those properties that participate receive any incentives?
Yes. All owners that participate will receive a one-time, $25 credit on their sewer bill upon completion of the program (not inspection). All fines with any prohibited connections discovered at the time of the inspection will be waived and although no final decisions have been made, should the Town develop a financial assistance program to cover all or a portion of the cost to properly redirect any prohibited connections, the owners that participate may be eligible for such programs.
