New Canaan Sewer Board Approves Fee Increase for Fiscal 2027
Water Pollution Control · Meeting of June 9, 2026
New Canaan's sewer authority raises residential fees to $160 per bedroom for fiscal 2027. The Water Pollution Control Authority voted unanimously after a public hearing that drew no resident comment, lifting the per-bedroom fee from $155, a 3.3 percent increase, while commercial rates rise roughly 3 to 4 percent across six flat-rate categories topping out at $12,040. The septage hauler fee holds flat at $105 per 1,000 gallons.
Separately, board members pressed consultants on a stalled $2 million federal funding request for a UV disinfection system replacement, learning the town instead secured money bringing the total project cost to $1.365 million ahead of a meeting next week with an EPA program manager. "We're hopeful, optimistic that we can turn this around with the EPA quickly," one presenter said, noting a comparable plant's UV system has already failed elsewhere.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,012 words
Source: the Water Pollution Control meeting of June 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
Call to Order and Roll Call
The New Canaan Water Pollution Control Authority convened a special meeting and public hearing on June 9, ahead of the town's regular Board of Finance session scheduled for 7 p.m. the same evening. The presiding chair, whose name was not clearly stated in the recording, opened the meeting and asked member Chris Lee to conduct the roll call. Members responding "here" included Diana Carlson, Todd Lavier, Michael Chen, Lee, Victor Alvarez and Maria Weingard, along with two additional members whose names were not clearly captured by the recording. Two other named members, identified in the roll call as J. Schaefer and Steve Doa, were called but did not audibly respond, suggesting they were absent. The board then voted to seat member Alan Bedain as an alternate in place of an absent member referred to only as James; the motion passed unanimously on a voice vote.
This procedural step matters because it establishes quorum and voting eligibility for the substantive items that followed, particularly the fee vote, which required a seated board to act on a public hearing item.
Approval of May 12 Minutes
The board approved the minutes of its May 12 special meeting without discussion, on a motion and second from the floor. One member, who had not attended the May 12 meeting, abstained from the vote at the chair's direction; no member voted against approval. This was a brief procedural item that generated no debate.
Public Hearing: Fiscal 2027 Sewer User Fee Changes
Background and stakes: The hearing was a continuation of a proposal the board first reviewed the previous month, part of an annual process by which the WPCA sets sewer user fees ahead of the town's budget cycle. New Canaan converted its sewer billing from an ad valorem tax to a tiered, flat-rate fee system based on bedroom count for residential users and operating-budget-based categories for commercial users, a change the notice read into the record traces to the fiscal 2026 rate cycle. The current $155 per bedroom rate was set under that fiscal 2026 restructuring.
The question before the body: whether to adopt, unchanged from the prior month's presentation, a proposed fiscal 2027 fee schedule raising residential and commercial sewer charges to support the sewer fund's anticipated 3 to 4 percent increase in total operating expenses.
Substantive content: Two consultants, identified in the meeting only by the first names Tiger and Maria, told the board they were proposing no changes from what they had presented the previous month. The residential sewer user fee would rise from $155 to $160 per bedroom, a 3.3 percent increase. Commercial sewer fees, billed under six flat-rate categories based on the treatment system's annual operating budget and needs, would rise by "3 percent or a little bit shy" for general office condominiums and the lowest commercial category, consultants said, consistent with the fund-wide 3 to 4 percent target. The chair subsequently read the formal notice of public hearing into the record, which set out the complete fiscal 2027 rate table: category one, $927.25; category two, $1,545; category three, approximately $3,700; category four, approximately $4,350; category five, $6,150; category six, $12,040; and commercial business condominiums, $310. The notice also addressed the fee charged to septage haulers depositing waste at the treatment plant, currently $105 per 1,000 gallons of disposal, which the proposal would hold flat at $105 for fiscal 2027 — the only fee category in the proposal not increasing.
The deliberation: Discussion was minimal because the substance had already been presented and discussed at the board's prior monthly meeting. One member asked the consultants to confirm the commercial increase was 3 percent; the consultants clarified that the figure varied slightly by category and that the residential increase, at 3.3 percent, ran slightly ahead of the commercial average but remained consistent with the sewer fund's overall projected cost growth. The chair noted the board had "really went through this last month," and no member raised objections to the figures.
"As part of the submission that we gave to you, it has a spreadsheet on it and it shows the totals, and on average it was 3 percent or a little bit shy on general office condos and on commercial category one," presenter Tiger told the board, adding that the residential increase "is in line with the overall 3 to 4 percent anticipated increase in the sewer fund total expenses."
Procedural steps and outcome: The chair opened the floor for public comment on the notice, noting no residents were present in the room or online to speak. With no comments received, the chair moved to close the hearing and proceed to a vote. The chair read the formal notice into the record before a member moved to approve the proposed sewer fee changes for fiscal year 2027 as presented; Michael Chen seconded, and the board voted unanimously to adopt the fee schedule, with no members opposed.
Implications and what is next: The adopted fee schedule takes effect with the start of fiscal year 2027 and applies to every residential and commercial sewer account in town. The vote also feeds directly into the Board of Finance's rate-setting work, which the WPCA chair noted was set to begin later the same evening with a review of the mill rate, fund balance and financial projections.
UV Disinfection System Federal Funding Update
Background and stakes: The board revisited the status of federal funding for a long-planned replacement of the treatment plant's ultraviolet disinfection system, an item members said had carried urgency roughly two years ago. An earlier funding request had sought $2 million; board members asked for a status update after concluding that request had not been fully funded.
The question before the body: whether the federal funding process for the UV system replacement remained on track, and what risk the plant faced in the meantime.
Substantive content: Consultants told the board the town did not receive the full $2 million previously sought, but did secure a congressional earmark that, combined with the town's required local match, brings the total project cost to $1.365 million. Consultants said the underlying figures involved some confusion in real time during the discussion, with references to a separate number near $1.92 million also raised before the group settled on $1.365 million as the total project cost figure; the exact composition of the federal share versus the required local match was not fully itemized on the record. Consultants said obtaining the earmark required waiting roughly a year for Congress to pass a federal budget before the funds could be allocated according to each congressional earmark's position in that process, and that starting construction before formal approval would have disqualified the project from reimbursement. "We'll take a million — a million is better than no[ne]," one participant said, characterizing the outcome as workable despite falling short of the original ask.
The deliberation: A board member pressed the consultants on timing and risk, asking whether there was cause for concern given the urgency the project carried two years earlier. Consultants responded that the plant's current UV system remains operational and that staff, led by a plant employee identified only as Nick, have kept the system compliant with permits. They disclosed that a comparable treatment facility elsewhere, whose UV system went online after New Canaan's, has since failed, and that the facility is incurring daily fines for noncompliance because replacement parts for that system are no longer manufactured. That facility asked New Canaan for spare parts; New Canaan declined, citing the need to preserve its own contingency stock in case its system fails before the replacement project is complete.
"So we did have a plant that uses a UV system that went online after ours, and it has failed, and we were actually asked this morning to provide them with parts, because those are very expensive parts," a presenter told the board. "There's no parts on the market. So we said no, we have to keep ours, because if ours fails, we need to have the parts."
Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was required on this item; it was a status update. Consultants said grant writer Greg Riley and plant staff member Nick met earlier the same day to prepare questions ahead of a meeting scheduled for the following week with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program manager, which will begin the formal review of the town's plans and specifications for the UV system replacement. Consultants estimated the federal grant-approval process typically takes a couple of months to complete.
Implications and what is next: The UV disinfection system replacement remains unfunded beyond the $1.365 million total project figure discussed Tuesday, pending the outcome of next week's EPA meeting and the subsequent federal review of the town's engineering plans. The board did not set a target date for construction to begin, and consultants characterized the timeline as dependent on factors outside the town's control. The plant's existing system remains in service and, according to staff, in compliance with its operating permit.
Adjournment
With no further business, a member moved to adjourn the WPCA meeting; the motion was seconded and approved unanimously on a voice vote called by Chris Lee.
Diana Carlson — WPCA member, present and responding to roll call. Todd Lavier — WPCA member, present and responding to roll call; surname spelling uncertain, see review. Michael Chen — WPCA member, present; seconded the motion adopting the fiscal 2027 fee schedule. Chris Lee — WPCA member, present; conducted the roll call and called at least one vote during the meeting. Victor Alvarez — WPCA member, present and responding to roll call. Maria Weingard — WPCA member, present and responding to roll call; surname spelling uncertain, see review. Not to be confused with a presenter referred to only as "Maria," who appears to be a separate individual; see review. Two additional members responded "here" during roll call but their names were not clearly captured in the recording; see review. J. Schaefer — named during roll call but did not audibly respond; likely absent. Steve Doa — named during roll call but did not audibly respond; likely absent; surname spelling uncertain, see review. Alan Bedain — seated during the meeting as an alternate member in place of an absent member identified only as James; surname spelling uncertain, see review. An unnamed individual referred to as James — WPCA member, apparently absent; Bedain was seated as his alternate. The WPCA chair — presided over the meeting; name not stated in the recording, see review. Tiger — consultant/presenter on the fiscal 2027 sewer fee proposal; full name and firm affiliation not stated, see review. Maria (presenter) — consultant/presenter on the fiscal 2027 sewer fee proposal, appearing distinct from board member Maria Weingard; full name and firm affiliation not stated, see review. Greg Riley — described as the WPCA's grant writer, working on the UV disinfection system federal funding application. Nick — described as a treatment plant staff member; surname not stated, see review. No members of the public spoke during the public hearing, in person or online.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — federal agency administering the earmark-funded grant for the UV disinfection system replacement; a program manager was scheduled to meet with town officials the week following this meeting. New Canaan Board of Finance — the town body scheduled to meet immediately after this WPCA session to set the mill rate and review fund balance and financial estimates for the coming fiscal year. Notice of Public Hearing and Change to Sewer Charges — the formal document read into the record by the WPCA chair, setting out the residential and commercial sewer fee schedule for fiscal year 2027. An unnamed peer treatment facility — referenced by consultants as operating a comparable UV disinfection system that failed after coming online later than New Canaan's; that facility is reportedly being fined daily for noncompliance and sought spare parts from New Canaan, which declined.