Burlington advances green stormwater and pump station upgrades to curb combined sewer overflows

Burlington advances green stormwater and pump station upgrades to curb combined sewer overflowsThe Vermont city is leveraging State Revolving Fund and ARPA grants to install extensive bioretention systems and rehabilitate a 55-year-old pump station, aiming to reduce flows to its wastewater treatment plant.

The city held environmental reviews for four projects, including five rain gardens on Cherry Street capable of diverting 20,000 gallons per 1-inch storm from the wastewater system.

ARPA funds, which must be utilized by September 2026, will support the North Avenue and Old North End green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) projects to mitigate CSO events.

The 55-year-old Crescent Beach Pump Station will be fully rebuilt using SRF financing, relocating its force main from private parcels to the public right-of-way.

The Burlington Public Works Commission held environmental review hearings on May 20, 2026, advancing four key water and wastewater infrastructure projects designed to alleviate pressure on the city's combined sewer system and wastewater treatment facilities. The projects rely heavily on federal and state funding, including the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Three of the projects focus on green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) to create new indirect discharges to groundwater, significantly reducing the volume of stormwater entering the combined collection system. The Cherry Street bioretention project, part of an estimated $70 million streetscape reconstruction, will install five rain gardens. According to Israel Maynard of Stantec, the systems are designed to capture and filter runoff before it reaches the groundwater table. Modeling shows the systems will infiltrate approximately 20,000 gallons of rainwater during a standard 1-inch storm event, directly reducing flows to the main wastewater treatment plant. To meet a September 2026 deadline for ARPA utilization, the city is also advancing the North Avenue Stormwater Improvements and the Old North End GSI retrofits. Water Resources Engineer Ashley Walenty noted that the North Avenue project, developed in collaboration with the Cambrian Rise development, will infiltrate runoff from 1.63 acres, offsetting more than 50% of the additional sewer demand generated by the new development. Meanwhile, the Old North End retrofits will capture runoff from over 10 acres of impervious surface across four separate sites. These subsurface systems provide internal storage capacity while infiltrating water, which Walenty emphasized will continually decrease the volume driving the city's combined sewer overflows, particularly at the Pine Street CSO outfall. In addition to the stormwater efforts, the city is moving forward with the Crescent Beach Pump Station and Forcemain Rehabilitation project. The 55-year-old facility will be entirely rebuilt using SRF financing. The project will decommission an existing force main that currently crosses up to 10 private parcels, relocating the infrastructure entirely into the public right-of-way. While the project will impact a 50-foot wetland buffer, city engineers anticipate a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) from state regulators, clearing the way for construction.