The State of Connecticut is under Extreme Fire Danger and Stage 2 Drought Advisory.The outdoor burning ban for Manchester will remain in effect. We ask all consumers to be mindful of any unnecessary water usage in order to protect our water supplies for essential drinking and fire-fighting purposes.
The Water Department provides potable water service and fire service to the majority of the Town and some abutting Towns. The Department provides water service to approximately 96% of the Town that consists of almost 15,750 service connections which is about 55,000 of the Town’s 59,400 residents. Approximately 5.7 million gallons of water are delivered daily.
The water system consists of seven reservoir impoundments which have a combined total capacity of 520 million gallons or a safe dependable yield of 4.6 million gallons per day. The system also has ten individual groundwater wells which can supply another 5.2 million gallons per day, thereby increasing the Town's total potable water supply capabilities to 9.8 million gallons per day. The distribution system consists of approximately 260 miles of water mains in sizes varying from 4 inches to thirty-six inches. There are ten water distribution storage tanks to meet peak daily water demand and fire protection requirements. The storage tanks have the capability of storing 7.178 million gallons located in various sites within the distribution system. There are also several water pump stations within the distribution system.
All the water from our reservoirs are all treated at the Globe Hollow Water Treatment Plant. The treatment process includes; ozonation, flocculation, sedimentation and filtration with chlorination, pH adjustment, fluoridation and corrosion control. Our ten wells have various treatment depending on the source, including; air stripping, chlorination, fluoridation and corrosion control.
The Sewer Department provides sanitary sewerage service to most Town residents with the exception of a few areas that abut neighboring Towns and those residents serviced by the Eighth Utilities District. The Eighth Utilities District covers an area of approximately 7.6 square miles in the north central section of the Town and maintains its own sewerage collection prior to discharging it into the Town’s system. This district’s system consists of approximately 37 miles of sewer main and serves about 3,800 customers. An estimated 95% of the entire Town is serviced by sanitary sewers. The Town’s portion of the sewer collection system consists of approximately 167 miles of sewers of various sizes and serves approximately 10,600 customers. All wastewater is conveyed through the Town’s collection system before entering the Hockanum River Water Pollution Control Facility. The wastewater treatment plant that is capable of providing 8.25 million gallons per day of advanced treatment capacity. The treatment at the plant includes; solids removal, nitrogen removal, phosphorus removal and ultra violet disinfection. The solids produced by the process is dewatered and disposed of at the landfill. This is done to make the water going back into the environment clean, in order to continue to support it.
The Water and Sewer Department operates as a self-supporting enterprise fund. This means that the revenues collected via the water rates pay for all of the expenditures, and Town taxes do not supplement the Water Department's budget.