A deluge of water during the rainstorm on Saturday, Oct. 21, combined with a sudden power surge that also affected other areas of Bristol, were contributing factors in the failure of a Bristol pumping station that proceeded to overflow and release about 11,250 gallons of untreated wastewater into Mt. Hope Bay.

Bristol’s Superintendent of Wastewater, Jose DaSilva, said on Wednesday morning that crews responded quickly to an alarm that pumps had gone offline at the Mount Hope pumping station, located at the far eastern end of Annawamscutt Drive near the Mount Hope Boat Ramp, around 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

But by the time they got to the area, heavy rainfall had already filled the station up to around 8 feet, and an overflow will happen when it reaches about 11.5 feet, DaSilva said. By the time crews got the pumping station up and running again, the overflow had begun and proceeded to wash out into the nearby waters of Mt. Hope Bay.

DaSilva said that a sudden power surge caused the pumps to lock themselves up to prevent damage, which triggered the alarm and the response.

“The response was quick…but during the rain event there was just so much water,” he said.

The pumping station was once subject to semi-regular overflows, according to DaSilva, back when it was part of a system that also received sewage from another pumping system at the bottom of Kickemuit Avenue and Harriston Street. But a project initiated by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the federal EPA rerouted that station to Metacom Avenue. DaSilva said that has made a big difference since.

“They still happen, but it has been greatly reduced,” he said.

Town Administrator Steven Contente added that the Town of Bristol has been working to upgrade and shore up the 11 pumping stations in town with backup generators and other upgrades.

“We’re trying to eliminate this…but we’re competing with nature,” he said.

DEM issues release, announces continued closure to shellfishing
RIDEM announced on Tuesday that they were extending a closure of shellfishing activities in the area following the incident. The same area (Growing Area 17), had already been closed due to the rain event on Saturday, but will now be closed “until further notice.”

“The current rain-related shellfish closure of all of the Rhode Island portion of Mount Hope Bay (Growing Area 17) remains in effect until sunrise on Sunday, Oct. 29. However, to safeguard public health and consistent with FDA guidance, the waters of Mount Hope Bay in the vicinity of the unpermitted wastewater discharge will remain closed to shellfish harvest until further notice,” the press release reads. “As a result, all RI waters of Mount Hope Bay north of a line extending from the southernmost tip of Mount Hope Point in Bristol east to the northern tip of Common Fence Point in Portsmouth are closed to shellfish harvest until further notice. This extended closure does not include the Kickemuit River (Growing Area 5). The extended closure in the area near the wastewater discharge will allow additional time for tidal dilution and shellfish depuration of potential pathogens. DEM will conduct water quality and shellfish meat testing to verify acceptable conditions prior to reopening the area to shellfish harvest.”