Montville WPCA outlines coronavirus response

Superintendent said facility’s staff currently are in good health

Montville — The town’s Water Pollution Control Authority plant is following state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Plant superintendent Derek Albertson said all of the employees are currently healthy. The CDC, National Health Institute, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Environmental Protection Agency “have all indicated there’s no transition through the water supply and no increased risk to staff,” he added, and workers are “trained to protect themselves from wastewater anyway.”

The WPCA set up a webpage with applicable COVID-19 information. It states that none of the facility staff members has symptoms, and that OSHA reported the plant’s current disinfection techniques are adequate. It also reiterates what

Albertson said of safety.

“Currently, the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water, and there is no evidence that the virus can be spread to humans through water,” the webpage reads. “The risk of transmission from the feces of an infected person is also unknown, but is expected to be low based on previous outbreaks of related coronaviruses.”

Albertson said education has been an important part of prevention, and that he meets with staff multiple times a day to discuss social distancing and protocols. He currently has staff segregated in different areas of the plant so that staff members are not near one another.

“We have tailgate meetings every morning and afternoon to brief the team on new developments about the pandemic or new information about transmission,” Albertson said. “We’ve been cleaning two to three times a day, bathrooms in particular.”

The WPCA’s contingency plan for the virus means staff members take their own temperatures each morning. Any possible sign of the virus, such as a dry cough, fever or fatigue, means staff is not to come into the workplace.

The plant currently is closed to the public, so people cannot pay bills in person. The WPCA is barred from shutting off water for customers who are late on payments for the time being. This is per Gov. Ned

Lamont’s Declaration of Public Health and Civil Preparedness Emergencies, which temporarily suspends “utility service terminations for residential customers for non-payment.” Staff members still are on call 24/7 for any water- or sewer-related emergencies.

Albertson noted that the WPCA has mutual aid agreements for sewer services with Ledyard, Norwich and the town and city of Groton. The WPCA has reached out for water supply mutual aid if necessary with the town of Groton and Mohegan Sun Casino.

Albertson credited employees at the plant for their dedication. “The town is very fortunate to have them,” he said.