Plastic on Groton beaches washed out of sewage plant during flooding

Groton – The town Public Works Department said today that thousands of small, plastic items escaped from a sewage treatment facility during flooding last week and have washed up on beaches from Eastern Point through Mumford Cove and Groton Long Point.

“We thought everything was kept in the plant, and it’s all over the plant, in other tanks and pipes and on site,” Gary Schneider, head of Groton’s Department of Public Works. “But it got loose, probably because of the volume of rain we had. It got into the wet wells, which we pump out of, and got into the Thames River and Fort Hill Brook, which feeds into Mumford Cove and Long Island Sound.” 

The black pieces, which are about 1 inch in diameter, do not pose an environmental threat and can be treated as regular beach litter and thrown away with other trash, Schneider said. The items were used inside Groton’s waste water treatment plant on Gary Court, providing the microscopic organisms that clean sewer water with more surface area to live. 

“The bugs can live on these things, so there’s more treatment in less space,” Schneider said.

The plastic pieces are typically held in place by screens, but the heavy rains last week forced an enormous amount of water through the facility — about 10 million gallons each day — putting an enormous burden on the facility. That screen was knocked out of place by last week’s flooding, setting the plastic pieces free. 

Residents who encounter the black pieces can call Public Works at (860) 446-4083, where staff will direct workers to clean up the site, Schneider said. Groton officials reported the incident to the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Coast Guard.