Williston
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JULY 25, 2024
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Flood resilience improves at wastewater plant
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
A primer for the primaries
Aug. 13 election to be held at the Armory BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Inflow at the Essex Junction Wastewater Facility peaked at more than twice its average during the July 10-11 storm. OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
Facility weathers July floods without unauthorized discharge BY JASON STARR Observer staff Extreme rain events during the past year have tested the wastewater treatment facility in Essex Junction where Williston residents and businesses send wastewater to be cleaned and returned to the watershed. Last July, the facility released untreated water into the Winooski River. This year, the facility fared better, weathering the July 10-11 floods without an unauthorized discharge. “We had no issues,” said the plant’s Water Quality Superintendent Chelsea Mandigo. “We actually barely even felt the effects of the storm, thankfully.” One difference, Mandigo said, is that the three municipalities that rely on the facility
— Williston, Essex and Essex Junction — have identified and started shoring up leaks that allow stormwater to infiltrate the wastewater system of pipes and pumps that feed the facility.
“We can’t make [pipes] 100 percent foolproof to stormwater … But if you know there is a lot of groundwater or stormwater coming in, there are techniques you can do to try to minimize that.” Chelsea Mandigo Water Quality Superintendent
Unlike the wastewater facilities in Montpelier and Burlington, which also release into the
Winooski River, the Essex Junction plant is not designed to handle stormwater. After the remnants of Hurricane Beryl came through on July 10, incident reports to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation show that both Montpelier and Burlington facilities released less-than-fully-treated overflows of combined stormwater and wastewater into the river. But even though the stormwater and wastewater systems in Williston are separate, some mixing does occur, Mandigo said, putting undue stress on the facility during storm cycles. For example, flows peaked last July at a rate of 6.2 million gallons per day, the facility’s records show. The average inflow for the facility is about 1.7 million gallons per day. During a storm in December, when rain and snowmelt combined to flood parts of northern Vermont, the inflow see WASTEWATER page 15
SUMMER TOMATO
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Celebrate Jericho Settler’s Farm tomatoes!
It’s about time to pick your party, and select its nominees. Williston voters will have a chance to weigh in on the Democratic, Republican or Progressive party nominees for statewide offices in the Aug. 13 primary election. Voters arriving at the polling place — the National Guard Armory at 7846 Williston Rd. — can choose which of the three ballots to fill out, and cast their votes for that party’s nominees for the General Election in November. Offices up for election include governor, lt. governor, state treasurer, secretary of state, auditor, attorney general and Williston’s representatives in the Vermont Senate and House. Candidates for Vermont’s representation in the U.S. Senate and House are also on the ballot. “You don’t have to tell which party you are voting in, but you can only vote for candidates on one party ballot …” the state’s Primary Election notice explains. Walk-in voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early ballots can be requested at the Town Clerk’s office. Beside a contested election for the lieutenant governor nomination between John Rodgers and Gregory Thayer, Republican nominations are otherwise uncontested, including Bruce Roy’s bid to represent Williston in the Vermont Senate.
See Page 7 for candidate statements in the contested Democratic nomination for Williston’s State Senate seats. The Progressive party ballot is entirely uncontested. On the Democratic ballot, there is a contest between Esther Charlestin and Peter Duval for the governor nomination and between Thomas Renner and incumbent David Zuckerman for lieutenant governor. There is also a contest for Democratic nominations to represent Williston in the State Senate. Four candidates — challenger Louis Meyers and incumbents Ginny Lyons, Kesha Ram Hinsdale and Thomas Chittenden — are seeking three available nominations. See Page 7 for statements from each candidate. For state representative, incumbents Angela Arsenault and Erin Brady are running uncontested for the two Democratic nominations. There are currently no declared Republican or Progressive candidates for state representative in Williston, but both parties could run a challenger in the General Election in November. Portions of southern Williston are grouped with part of South Burlington in a separate legislative district. South Burlington resident Bridget Marie Burkhardt (Democrat) is the only candidate running to represent that district in the House.
Shelburne Road, S. Burlington Maple Tree Place, Williston
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