WESTFIELD — Susan McFarlin, president of the Hampton Ponds Association, has asked the Water Commission to rescind a decision voted on Nov. 10 to discontinue maintaining the sewer grinder pumps that connect their homes to the city sewer system, which the city has been maintaining, repairing and replacing for the past 25 years. A meeting of the Water Commission has been scheduled for Feb. 12 to hear the request to rescind the vote.
McFarlin said the homeowners were first made aware of the decision when they received a certified letter in early December from Public Works Executive Director Randal Brown, stating the commission had met three times in September, October and November to discuss discontinuing maintenance on Hampton Ponds residents’ septic grinder pumps.
She said included with the certified letters to approximately 45 homeowners in the Hampton Ponds neighborhood was a copy of the final resolution of the vote on Nov. 10, which stated: “The City of Westfield agrees to cease paying for all costs, labor and parts as of June 30, 2026. After July 1, 2026, all of the costs, labor, and parts shall be paid by the homeowner.”
McFarlin said the pumps are necessary to utilize the sewer system. “No notice was given to any homeowner that this issue was being discussed, thereby depriving all affected persons of the right to have any input in this decision. Seemingly a clear deprivation of our property rights without due process,” she said.
She said the decision alarmed many residents and went against an agreement made 25 years ago by the city to cover maintenance.
The grinder pumps were first installed in the 1990s after residents were required to hook up to the sewer system due to new environmental regulations to prevent waste from leaching into Hampton Ponds.
She said at the time, the city had two choices. One was a deep sewer system that every house could tie into. That would have required deep pipe trenches and one or more conventional deep pump stations.
The city opted for a less expensive shallow system using grinder pumps designed for use by individual homes. By implementing grinder pumps, the city was able to proceed and enable most residents to access the sewer system, she said, adding that in April of 1999, the city threatened to sue the homeowners if they didn’t hook up to the system.
“Nobody at Hampton Ponds is on septic anymore. Every house had no choice but to have grinder pumps,” she said.
The cost to have the pumps installed 1990s was $6,000, according to McFarlin. The city provided the financing, which was reimbursed through a state grant to pay for the installation. She said originally, the homeowners were told the pumps would last 20 years.
“Everybody agreed, if the city paid for the installation, the original homeowners would be responsible for maintenance. The association agrees with that,” she said. However, it became readily apparent that the pumps were not dependable, and if the pumps didn’t work, they were unusable.
In August 2001, the homeowners presented a petition to the City Council, stating that since the city of Westfield decided to install grinder pumps for the sewer system to avoid a deeper sewer system and pumping station, there had been numerous repair and maintenance problems. The petition, signed by residents of Pequot Pond Road, Long Pond Road, and New Broad Avenue, asked the city to maintain the grinder pumps.
The petition reads, “We understand the pumps were installed as an alternative to deep digging a sewer line to service the residents and avoided having to install an additional pumping station.
“We respectively request that the city retain the burden of service to these pumps, which the city chose, funded, installed, and now should maintain, or rethink the installation of deep sewer lines.
“We asked for sewers; we have constant breakdowns. repair issues. money issues, etc. that the city must address and be responsible for.”
The petition was presented at the Aug. 16, 2001 City Council meeting, where, according to the minutes, it was voted to be accepted and placed on file. Further on in the meeting, the council voted that the proper steps be taken to train the Public Works employees to maintain the grinder pumps in the Hampton Ponds area and that the matter be referred to the Public Works Commission, Law Department and mayor.
Since that meeting in 2001, the city has maintained, repaired and replaced the sewer pumps at Hampton Ponds.
McFarlin said they received the certified letter, dated Nov. 24, 2025, in the first week of December, which basically said the city has provided maintenance and service for grinder pumps since the early 2000s, and that during the Water Commission meeting on Nov. 10, they voted to discontinue city-provided service and maintenance for the grinder pumps.
“Nobody knew anybody was discussing anything about the grinder pumps. They attached the resolution to the letter, said they discussed it at their meetings in September, October and November. They didn’t notify the residents of the meeting or the discussion,” McFarlin said.
“The city has been maintaining grinder pumps for 25 years. We call the city when one fails,” she said. “We don’t even know what’s been done to our pumps. I don’t know if the pump at my house is a refurbished pump or if they replaced it six years ago. No one has discussed any maintenance with us, or what we should or should not do.”
McFarlin communicated with Brown on behalf of the association, and asked for the Water Commission to hear their request to rescind the order.
Brown said the maintenance of the sewer grinder pumps at Hampton Ponds was first brought to his attention after he started at his position in June of 2025.
He said the original contract signed by the city and property owners stated that residents would maintain the pumps, and he has not found anything in writing that counters that contract. He said if the city were going to maintain responsibility, it would have required easements to go onto the properties, which he didn’t find.
Brown said all of the other grinder pumps in the city are already maintained by residents, and Hampton Ponds is the only area where the city has maintained them.
Asked how many other homes have sewer pumps, he said he didn’t know without doing a count, but plans to bring the list to the Feb. 12 meeting.
Brown said one of the other issues is that the city got calls from residents who said they weren’t aware the city maintained the pumps. Those residents said they have been doing it themselves.
Regarding the City Council meeting in August of 2021, after which the city took over maintenance of the sewer pumps, Brown said the petition was placed on file, and the motion referred to Public Works, law and the mayor. He said he could not find any follow-up discussion.
“My opinion is the city has been servicing these pumps for 25 years when they shouldn’t have been,” Brown said. “All the documentation we have doesn’t seem like the city should maintain responsibility.”
Brown said a lot of the pumps have been replaced. “We have a log of all the replacements we have done over the years. I would venture that most of them have gone through at least one pump. There may be some that are original, but most have been replaced.”
As for notification to the residents about the discussions in the Water Commission meetings last fall and the vote on Nov. 10, Brown said they were policy discussions, which were posted on the agendas on the city’s website. He did not believe residents were notified directly. “I did speak to the ward councilor as this was ongoing. I’m not sure what they knew,” he said.
Brown said the decision gave six months of lead time to the residents. “The way the letter was written, the city would maintain responsibility through June 30. The city is still providing that service to residents through June 30.”
Ward 6 Councilor William Onyski said he helped to arrange the meeting with the Water Commission on Feb. 12 to hear from the residents. “There is going to be a meeting so that they can say their piece,” he said.
“The residents reached out. They asked for a meeting. I’m happy to have that with them,” Brown said.
