The question has been raised: “How were the study areas determined or defined?”  The answer lies in the numerous studies done over the past 40 years. Each study or report identified areas which it felt should be evaluated, and a variety of priorities for which area should be addressed first, and how.  The appended spreadsheet shows an approximation of the recommended alternatives for each of the areas in each of the reports.

The first study I can find a record of in DEP files is a reference to a 1971 study by the Old Saybrook Refuse Disposal Commission (This report is mentioned in the 1976 Malcolm Pirnie report).  It recommends sewers for the following areas:

Cornfield Point

Knollwood - Fernwood (that is the spelling on the maps and text!)

Indiantown – Saybrook Manor

Chalker Beach

Town Center (Main Street)

(Bear in mind that in the 1970s and before, onsite was not a long-term option.  It was a temporary solution until sewers were available.)

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The 1976 Valley Shores Regional Wastewater Report identified 12 areas of town for evaluation of need (translation: what order do we sewer them in.)  Those areas were labeled A through L; I’ve added names to give you an approximate idea of where they are.  The order has no special significance.

A: Route 1 (Westbrook Town Line to House Road)

B: Chalker Beach

C: Route 1 (House Road to Great Hammock Road)

D: Indiantown – Saybrook Manor

E: Oyster River East

F: Route 1 (Great Hammock Road to Main Street)

G: Main Street

H: Saybrook Point

I: Maple Ave

J: Cornfield Point – Cornfield Park

K: Knollwood – Fenwood

L: Plum Bank – Great Hammock

This report, which recommended a central sewage treatment plant in Clinton which all the shoreline towns from Guilford to Old Saybrook would discharge to, was soundly rejected by every town in the study.  The consultant was sent back to prepare a Sewer Avoidance report for each town.

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The Sewer Avoidance Report for Old Saybrook was issued in draft form by Malcolm Pirnie in 1981, and in final form (to close the books and receive final payment) in 1987, when the Hayden Wegman report was already in preparation.  This report, which recommended a combination of solutions (some onsite and some community system) was not acted on by the town.  Over time, the recommended community system sites were either acquired by developers, or shown to not have the estimated capacity (also by developers) to handle the expected volume of flow.  The 18 areas included

OS-3A : Chalker Beach North

OS-3B : Indiantown – Saybrook Manor

OS-3C : Meadowood

OS-3D : Chalker Beach South

OS-4A: Maple Ave North

OS-4B: Saybrook Point

OS-4C: Plum Bank – Great Hammock

OS-4D: Cornfield Park

OS-4E: Cornfield Point

OS-4F: Fenwood

OS-4G: Knollwood

OS-4H: Maple Ave South

OS-4I: North Cove (south side)

OS-1 A &B and OS-2 A, B, & C were to the northeast of town center, along Rt 1

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The 1989 Hayden-Wegman Report was prepared to address the continuing unresolved wastewater problems in town.  It built on the previous reports, and pursued a variety of solutions, finally recommending the Tri-town sewer project rejected by Old Saybrook voters in Nov 1989.  The studied problem areas included:

Thompson-Denmore

Chalker Beach, North and South

Saybrook Manor

Maple Avenue North

Indiantown

Saybrook Point

Fenwood

Cornfield Park

Cornfield Point

Saybrook Acres

Oyster River East

Ingham Hill

Meadowood

Note that, even in this report, the problem areas are shown on a map as a neighborhood with a broad circle around it, and not defined by property boundaries.

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The town hired Nexus in 1991 to verify the results of the 1989 study (basically, a second opinion).  They used the same study areas as the Hayden-Wegman report.  Their conclusion was that the 1989 study had not gone far enough, and that Cornfield Point and Cornfield Park should also be sewered.

The town hired Weston & Sampson to develop a one-town alternative based on the Nexus report.  The Final Report on Off-site Solutions for Collection and Treatment of Wastewater was released in August 1993.  This report used the same study areas as the Nexus report, and specifically defined the Route 1 and Main Street corridors as separate study areas:

Route 1 West

Route 1 East

Route 1 North

Main Street

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The reports generated by the town’s current consultant, Fuss & O’Neill, start in 1996.  The boundaries of the study areas were modified per a February 1998 report, but the overall study areas remain the same. As an example of the study areas being evaluated, I chose the 2003 Mixed Onsite and Off-site Wastewater Disposal Alternative report, issued May 2003.  This was the last major report issued before the mediation process was initiated.  The 15 study areas in that report, which continue to be used in the current decentralized planning effort, were:

Group A:           Chalker Beach

                        Indiantown

                        Saybrook Manor

Group B:           Cornfield Park

                        Great Hammock

                        Plum Bank

                        Cornfield Point

                        Maple Avenue North

Group C:           Saybrook Acres

                        Oyster River East

                        Ingham Hill

                        Meadowood

                        Fenwood

                        Saybrook Point

                        Thompson

Plus the four Main St. /  Route 1 corridors from the previous report

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Closing Note: Based on my search of the records, it appears that the Borough of Fenwick was considered a separate municipal entity and was never included in any evaluation of wastewater need in any of these studies.