Town To Residents: We Don’t Want The Winter Sand Back

By Jan Howard

Landscape companies and residents cleaning up local yards are reminded not to sweep debris into town roads.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said this week that those doing so are in violation of state statutes and could be ticketed.

“People don’t realize they should sweep it up and take it away,” Mr Rosenthal said. “If they don’t, it could be washed into catch basins and into swamps and waterways.”

As a result of the Clean Water Act, Mr Rosenthal said the town must prepare and implement a storm water plan.

“We have to educate people not to put debris into the road,” he said. “They need to get a shovel or broom and dispose of it on their property.”

He also noted that the additional sweeping and cleaning required as a result of lawn debris adds to costs to the town.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said that while the town would be sweeping the roads, it might take some time before all roads are completed. “We reverse the schedule each year so some roads are not always first and others last.”

He noted that if large quantities of road sand are affecting residents, they should sweep it up and use it on their property, such as to fill in a low spot.

The salt content is minimal, he said, because most would have leached out.

Mr Hurley said while regulations require towns to keep salt, sand, and debris from washing into catch basins and watercourses, there is no guidance as to where to get rid of it.

Newtown, however, has found a use for it. Mr Hurley said the town stores road sand for a year to allow for any leaching, then screens it and combines it with pond muck for use as backfill in curbing and roadwork.

“You’re limited in what you can use it for,” Mr Hurley said. The use in roadwork, he noted, “is a beneficial reuse.”