The Town of Stonington has received over $700,000 in federal funding to help replace and repair two of their wastewater pumping stations.
The total cost of the sewer upgrade project is around $1.6 million.
Stonington First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough said getting this matching funding from the federal government is the only way small towns can afford projects like this.
“Some of these projects have been years we’ve been waiting for. Some are newer and some like this one, also help us address other issues that we were talking about with climate resiliency,” Chesebrough said. “All of these stations are obviously in flood zones where they’re located.”
“By having this partnership, to have federal dollars, will also help us to make this a more resilient pump station and help us to direct those dollars where they’re really needed — with other pump stations because they all need work,” she added.
The River Road Pump Station, on the banks of the Pawcatuck River, handles wastewater for around 2,300 homes but needs an extra pump to add capacity and help when there are wastewater surges in the sewer system.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said infrastructure, like the pumping stations, are critical for the environment. “We need to treat wastewater before it pollutes the Pawcatuck and Long Island Sound,” he said.
