Following a battle that lasted nearly 15 years, Clinton’s four septage lagoons are in the final stages of being permanently closed.

A septage lagoon holds waste that is pumped from residential septic systems by private haulers. Lagoons are common in less densely populated areas where municipal water pollution control facilities aren’t readily available. Clinton’s four lagoons began operating in September 1974, and are located near a tributary of the Hammonasset River at the end of Knollwood Drive.

Water Pollution Control Commission (WPCC) Chairman Matthew Kennedy provided context on the importance of closing the lagoons.

“In its continuing efforts toward improving groundwater and surface water quality, the Town of Clinton and its WPCC recently completed the primary tasks of closing the former municipal septage lagoons on Knollwood Drive,” Kennedy stated. “The lagoons, previously permitted by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to accept septic wastewater from local pumpers and town facilities, had been out of use since approximately 2005.

“Continued groundwater monitoring has shown decreasing nutrient and chemical impacts and the closure is seen as a final step toward removing the former lagoons as an on-going potential source of contamination to the Hammonasset River and its watershed,” he continued. “This November, nearly 200 tons of composted septage sludge was removed for off-site disposal during closure activities. The work was accomplished using Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) funding similar to that used to reestablish the town’s shellfish beds. The project was also accomplished under budget thanks to over $15,000 of in-kind services by the Clinton Department of Public Works, and countless hours of volunteer efforts by the WPCC.

“The town specifically thanks current WPCC member and longtime WPCC chairman Hal Dolan for his tireless commitment to formally closing the lagoons and improving water quality for the Town of Clinton and its neighbors and visitors over the past decade,” Kennedy stated.

Kennedy said that though the lagoons were once a permitted use, over time their use became discouraged. Apart from some minor upkeep on the site, Kennedy said that the lagoons are effectively permanently closed.

“We got it done in a reasonable way,” Kennedy said.

As a final requirement, Kennedy said that in three months there will be one more test of the groundwater.

Kennedy described the lagoons issue as one many people in town probably didn’t even know about.

“This is one of the tangible accomplishments we’re very proud of it. This should have been closed in the early 2000s,” said Kennedy.

With the lagoons now closed, Kennedy said he is hopeful that the WPCC can fill the vacant seat on the commission, and address other issues in town.

In 2015, a federal EPA lawsuit against Unilever resulted in a $500,000 settlement to be split between Clinton and Madison; a portion of that money was earmarked to be used to close the lagoons. In July 2015, the town reached an agreement with Department of Energy & Environmental Protection to close the lagoons.