At about 11:45 am on Friday, December 23, the Richmond wastewater system experienced a wastewater overflow at the manhole south of the Bridge St. bridge. The incident was caught early and was stopped at about 12:30 pm. The proper steps have been taken to report the incident to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Watershed Management Division.
The incident was caused by a check valve not operating correctly in the pump station that is designed to send wastewater to the wastewater treatment facility. When the pump kicked on, instead of pumping wastewater to the wastewater treatment facility, it pumped the wastewater back up the line and overflowed the manhole immediately up the line. The wastewater then flowed onto the road and entered a storm drain that drains to the Winooski River. P&P Septic was called to pump out the line and stop the overflow.
Staff reset the pump and the check valve began operating correctly. Staff have monitored the check valve and it continues to operate correctly since being reset. As a precaution, P&P Septic will be pumping the line every few hours overnight and staff will examine the operation of the check valve in the morning. If it continues to operate correctly the pumping of the station will cease.