Groton Sewer Users: Guide in Case Power Goes Out

The Town of Groton released the following PSA.

Be prepared - Sewer Users with Grinder Pumps – What you should do if the power goes out.

Your grinder pump is powered by electricity and will not function during a power outage. In order to prevent sewage from backing up into your home, severely limit the interior use of water until power is restored. Do not shower, bathe or wash dishes and only flush the toilet when absolutely necessary.

Since your holding tank has a limited capacity (typically six toilet flushes), if the system was already full and ready to pump just before the power went out, there may be no additional storage available. Additional use may cause a backflow into the house.

DPW staff will visit your residence and provide pumpout service for your grinder pump during periods of extended power outage (Outage occurs for 24 hours or more). If you have a town owned pump, we have your address in our database, and we will plan to visit you on a rotating basis. You must provide open access to the pump control box and pump chamber and make sure there are no landscape plantings obstructing access. The Town will not be responsible for any damage to landscaping while performing this service.

If you have a privately owned pump:

You must contact the DPW to request pumpout assistance at (860) 445-1016. However, if your pump does not have a properly installed, permanent electrical fitting that is wired into the house, for employee and equipment safety, we will not connect our generator to your pump. It is your responsibility to contact your pump provider or electrician.

We ask for your patience if an extended outage does occur. There are 160 town owned grinder pumps and several dozen known private grinder pumps. We’ve learned from previous storm experience that we may only be able to visit your residence once per day, so it is imperative that you absolutely minimize your use.

Photo by Town of Groton