Darien Sewer Panel Holds Rates Flat, Tightens Appeals

Water Pollution Control · Meeting of September 8, 2026

Darien's Sewer Commission held sewer rates flat and adopted a rule tying fee appeals to sump pump compliance. Chairman Greg J. Flaherty's panel kept the standard charge at $7.50 per 100 cubic feet and the minimum charge at $291.43 a year, both 0 percent changes effective October 1.

The commission also amended Article 13 of town ordinance to bar sewer fee appeals from residents who have not filed a sump pump compliance statement or disconnected an illegal sewer connection, over the written objection of resident Alexis Sweet, who warned it could "costing both the resident and the town time and money." Separately, the commission approved an $11,124.62 refund for a mistakenly billed vacant lot at 88 Pear Tree Point Road and heard that 3,450 of 5,432 properties, about 64 percent, have responded to the town's sump pump disclosure survey, with 112 still connected to the sanitary sewer.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,264 words

Source: the Water Pollution Control meeting of September 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Public Hearing: Setting Sewer User Fees for Fiscal Year 2027

The commission opened its meeting with the first of two public hearings required before it can set rates for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2026. Chairman Greg J. Flaherty read the legal notice into the record, which proposed a standard charge between $7.40 and $7.55 per 100 cubic feet of water and a minimum service charge of $291.43 per year, a 0 percent change from the current rate. No members of the public spoke, and no written comments were received by the 4 p.m. submission deadline. The commission voted to open and then close the hearing without further discussion, deferring the actual rate-setting vote to later in the meeting under new business. This two-step structure — hearing first, vote later — is procedural and tied to the statutory notice requirement; it produced no debate here because the rate itself had been discussed, according to Flaherty, at the commission's prior meeting.

Public Hearing: Sump Pump Appeal Restriction

The second hearing addressed a more consequential proposal: amending Article 13 of the town's sump pump removal regulations, Section 1013-9, to add a new Subsection C barring a sewer user from appealing their annual fee if the town has not received a completed sump pump compliance statement for the property, or if a sump pump discharge remains connected to the sanitary sewer system with no substantial progress toward disconnection. The amendment is part of the commission's ongoing push to enforce a sump pump disconnection program approved earlier by Representative Town Meeting.

Before the hearing, Flaherty read into the record a same-day email from Alexis Sweet of 20 Beverly Place. Sweet wrote that she understood the goal was to create an incentive for compliance but questioned the mechanism: "My understanding is that state law already gives someone who is aggrieved by a sewer charge the right to appeal to superior court. What is the town accomplishing by taking away the local appeal process other than potentially forcing a resident to go to court, costing both the resident and the town time and money over something that might otherwise be resolved locally?" No other public comment was offered, and no commissioner responded directly to Sweet's argument during the hearing. The commission closed the hearing and took up the amendment later on the agenda, where it passed without recorded discussion of Sweet's objection beyond a commissioner's brief question about how the compliance requirement would be verified ("How does not receive it?").

Setting Fiscal 2027 Rates and Adopting the Sump Pump Appeal Ordinance

Returning to new business, Flaherty opened discussion by crediting the department's work before any vote was taken: "I think Ed is doing a great job with this department being a steward of not only our physical infrastructure, but our sewer user fee dollars have been used thoughtfully and well, and we are making necessary investments in our sewer system to recover, maintain, improve its health and function in the long term." He noted the department is projecting "a little more than a slight surplus" for the coming year against a long list of planned system investments.

Commissioner Bob moved to keep the sewer user fee at $7.50 per 100 cubic feet, a 0 percent increase; Commissioner Reese seconded. A companion motion held the minimum service charge at $291.43, also unchanged. Both passed without opposition. A commissioner clarified afterward that the separate "well rate," charged to customers on private wells with public sewer, is not being changed in its calculation method but will fluctuate based on the prior year's average usage, as the existing regulation requires.

The commission then adopted the Article 13 amendment creating the new appeal restriction, with a first and second on the table and no recorded dissent. "Motion passes. Amendments are updated. The regulations are amended," Flaherty said.

Infiltration and Inflow Data Review

A staff member referred to in discussion as Mel walked the commission through five updated charts tracking Darien's flow to the City of Stamford's treatment system, water-use data from Aquarian Water Company, and the town's estimated infiltration and inflow (INI) — groundwater and stormwater that enters the sanitary sewer through cracks, illegal connections and old pipe joints. The data shows Darien's flow to Stamford declining over the past two years, which commissioners and staff attributed partly to two consecutive relatively dry years rather than definitive proof the town's INI-reduction efforts are working. One chart compares estimated INI to rainfall and shows the two roughly tracking together; a commissioner noted the test will come "when you get 60 inches of rain" similar to 2019 or 2024, when INI spiked sharply. Commissioners also discussed whether new high-density housing in Stamford affects the regional comparison; staff said added units represent roughly "one or two percent" of the total housing stock and have not meaningfully moved Stamford's baseline flow. The current fiscal year's INI percentage was reported as 13.16, with commissioners expressing hope of reducing it further.

Table of Appeals Review

The commission reviewed its own record of granting or denying sewer fee appeals over the past year, with a staff member providing a tally described as "18 leaks" and compensation partial rather than full forgiveness in most cases. Asked directly for his assessment, a commissioner referred to as Ed said of the commission's approach, "you folks have always been fair," prompting Flaherty to characterize the panel's posture: "I think the needle is probably on the side of accommodating versus heavy-handed. And I think that's a fine place for the needle to be." No vote was taken; the item was a year-end review rather than a decision point, though it directly informs the sump pump appeal restriction adopted earlier in the meeting.

Phase Two Engineering Presentation Tabled

Item six, a planned phase two engineering presentation by consultant Arcadis, did not occur. Staff told the commission Arcadis needs more time to resolve data anomalies from closely spaced meters in one area that were producing turbulent-flow readings skewed by negative flow calculations. Commissioners agreed by consensus, without a formal vote, to hear the roughly 15-to-20-minute presentation at the commission's regular October meeting rather than convene a special meeting, noting October is typically light on appeals business.

Billing Correction: 88 Pear Tree Point Road

Staff brought forward a billing error involving a subdivided, formerly undeveloped lot at 88 Pear Tree Point Road, once part of a school property split into a four-lot subdivision. Staff explained the parcel had been mistakenly assigned a list number tied to unrelated water usage elsewhere in town, resulting in bills being sent and paid despite no actual water use on the property. A sewer lateral connection exists in front of the lot via a low-pressure force main valve box installed when the subdivision was created, but staff confirmed the lot has never been connected and no disconnect permit is needed. The error surfaced when the property was sold. State law limits refunds to three years of billing; the commission voted to refund $11,124.62 — the full three-year amount — to whichever party is determined to have paid the bills, likely the previous owner rather than the buyer who closed on the sale. One commissioner asked whether the owner should still be charged a minimum fee given the physical ability to connect; staff and the chair agreed no, comparing the vacant, unconnected lot to a property that had filed a formal disconnect permit.

Sump Pump Compliance Program: Status Update

Staff gave a numerical update on the town's mandatory sump pump disclosure effort: 3,450 of 5,432 properties, about 64 percent, had responded as of the meeting, up 150 from the prior month. Of respondents, about 1,800 reported no sump pump and 1,645 reported having one; of those, 112 reported their sump pump remains connected to the sanitary sewer, up 13 from the previous month. Staff noted roughly 1,000 submissions lacked required photos and about 150 lacked signatures, both requiring follow-up mailings. Staff also described anecdotal voluntary disconnections, including one resident on Pleasant Street who removed a sump pump connection after direct outreach and one submission that arrived with a photo showing a sump pump actively discharging onto a lawn.

Sump Pump Compliance Statement and Cover Letter Revisions

The commission spent significant time on the format of two mailed documents: the sump pump compliance statement itself and its accompanying cover letter. On the statement, commissioners took a straw poll on willingness to consider further edits; four of five commissioners present, excluding a commissioner identified as Ed, indicated openness to changes. Ed stated plainly, "I am against changing it," arguing the current one-page version, reached after what staff called "a Herculean effort," should not be reopened. Other commissioners favored the one-page format but wanted clearer visual hierarchy, including bolding the form's title and reducing ink use by inverting a colored box. On a motion to "accept this form and send out for the second round," the commission voted 4-1, with Ed dissenting.

On the cover letter, commissioners debated enlarging the words "Sewer Commission" on the letterhead to match the width of "Town of Darien" above it, and fixing a graphic rendering error in the header. One commissioner argued that further wording changes would do little because residents who call the First Selectman's office with complaints are not reading the letter regardless of its content: "I don't think it's going to matter... If you add more verbiage, I don't think they're going to read it." The commission ultimately declined to add a phone number to the letter, preferring email contact for record-keeping, noting the sewer department's email address already appears on the compliance statement. Commissioner Reese moved to accept the letter with the header fix and font-size change; a commissioner identified as Van Winkle seconded. The motion passed; the chair briefly solicited opposition after the fact, with none recorded.

Superintendent's Report: Rehabilitation, Billing Discovery, Connection Fees

In closing updates, staff reported the commission's phase three sewer lining rehabilitation project is substantially complete. Service connection grouting is about 45 percent finished, with crews expected on site through the following week; lateral cleaning and closed-circuit television inspection work has roughly three days remaining. Some lateral lining has had to be redone after blowouts traced to a washing machine discharge and a sump pump; the sump pump in question has since been disconnected.

Staff also disclosed a previously unbilled sewer connection discovered at 4 Seagate Road, where a house has been connected to sewer service since it was built but was found still on a billing record reflecting septic status, likely due to a sale-related records check. The town is creating an as-built diagram and lateral file and will bill three years of back charges, the statutory maximum, though the exact amount was not presented at this meeting.

Finally, staff reported fiscal year 2026 connection fee revenue of just over $290,000, driven largely by one or two large developments. A commissioner noted connection fees have only been collected for roughly five years, calling it a marked change from a decade earlier when the figure would have been zero.

WHO WAS THERE

Greg J. Flaherty, Chairman, presided over the meeting. Commissioner Hill, who called out a minor grammar correction to the prior meeting's minutes. Commissioner Susan Cameron, who moved the 88 Pear Tree Point Road refund and participated in sump pump form discussion. A commissioner referred to by first name only as Peter, who moved approval of the August 11 minutes and raised the letter's phone-number question. A commissioner referred to by first name only as Bob, who moved the fiscal 2027 sewer fee motion. A commissioner referred to by first name only as Reese, who seconded and moved several motions including the compliance form and cover letter votes. A commissioner referred to by surname only as Van Winkle, who seconded the cover letter motion. A person referred to by first name only as Ed, who answered questions on sump pump compliance processing and appeals history and cast the dissenting vote on the compliance form; role (staff or commissioner) is not stated explicitly in the transcript. A staff member or consultant referred to by first name only as Mel, who presented infiltration-and-inflow charts. A staff member referred to by first name only as Joanne, credited with maintaining billing and appeals data and providing connection-fee figures. A person referred to by first name only as Chris, addressed briefly during the compliance-form discussion. Alexis Sweet, resident of 20 Beverly Place, submitted written public comment opposing the sump pump appeal restriction; did not attend in person.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

Arcadis — engineering consultant whose phase two sewer system study presentation was tabled to the October meeting pending resolution of meter data issues. Aquarian Water Company — supplies the water-use data the commission uses to estimate infiltration and inflow in its sewer system. City of Stamford — receiving municipality for Darien's sewer flow; cited in comparative infiltration-and-inflow charts and development-impact discussion. Darien Code of Ordinances, Appendix C, Administrative Regulations, Article 11, Section 1000-6 — governs sanitary sewer user fee rates, amended effective October 1, 2026 to keep rates flat. Darien Code of Ordinances, Article 13, Section 1013-9 — sump pump removal regulations; amended at this meeting to add Subsection C restricting sewer fee appeals for sump pump noncompliance. Email from Alexis Sweet, dated September 8, 2026 — public comment opposing the sump pump appeal restriction, cited during the second public hearing. August 11, 2026 Sewer Commission meeting minutes — approved with a grammar correction, referencing an earlier email from Susan Cameron.