The Daily Five: Sewers, Beach Closures, and Charitable Giving

The Daily Five is Patch's regular morning column that tells you five things you need to know, all before breakfast!

1. Yesterday’s storm brought in a cold front but temperatures haven’t dropped by much. Weather.com is forecasting a high today of 83 degrees and an overnight low of 66 degrees. It’s going to be partly cloudy and there’s a 20 percent chance of rain during the day and a 30 percent chance of rain overnight.

2. Wouldn’t you know it, the very day that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection gives all state park swimming areas a clean bill of health, East Lyme has a sewer problem.

Apparently the computer that controls the pumps overheated yesterday and that caused a sewer on Route 156 to backup and overflow into a catch basin.

The town caught the problem pretty quickly and was able to fix it manually. The computer has also been repaired and is up and running once again but it’s going to take 24 hours for Ledge Light Health District to come back with results from the water tests.

Until then, East Lyme beaches are closed to swimmers. If everything comes out okay, the beaches will be open again on Friday.

That’s not the only sewer issue that came up at last night’s East Lyme Board of Selectman meeting. A sewer main on Logger Hill Road in Waterford that is used by both Waterford and East Lyme is showing signs of collapse. The 25-year-old pipe was supposed to last for 50 years but if it’s not repaired now, it’s not going to make it.

East Lyme is contractually obligated to pay a percentage of the cost of repairs. Between the town’s sewer account and the money East Lyme has contributed to a depreciation fund in Waterford, the town has most of the money it needs for repairs, East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica said.

However, the Board of Selectman still had to approve bonding for $680,000 to make up the shortfall. The board agreed that this wasn’t a problem anyone could ignore.

“If this pipe does collapse, we’d have to truck it out,” said Formica. I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what he meant by “it.”

To add insult to injury, New London City Council recently approved a request from the Water and Water Pollution Control Authority to raise the sewer rates. You’ll find that story on .

3. The is all about helping women help themselves, but sometimes a sister could use a hand up. With that in mind, the Old Lyme-based nonprofit donated a total of $4,000 to the Thames River Family Program in Norwich and the New Horizons Domestic Violence Shelter in Middletown yesterday.

If you’ve never been to the Lyme Tree Women’s Exchange, I’d definitely recommend you check it out. The store is run entirely by volunteers, carries a treasure-trove of handcrafted items and all the profits are donated to charity.     

4. It’s not too late to sign up to compete in the sandcastle competition or the wacky raft race that will be part of Celebrate East Lyme’s festivities. The sandcastle competition begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. You’ll need buckets and spades but you can only use native materials that you
find at Hole in the Wall beach.

The raft race kicks off at 7 p.m., also from the Hole in the Wall. There will be prizes for the best-dressed crew and best-looking raft but if you want to win the race, you’ll have to make sure your raft stays afloat long enough to make it 250 feet out around two buoys and back again!

Contact East Lyme’s Parks & Recreation Office at (860) 739-5828 before 4 p.m. on Friday to get in on the action.  

5. Exactly two years ago today, 11-year-old Caroline O’Brien of Old Lyme died from a rare brain cancer known as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma or DIPG. On July 28, people from Lyme and Old Lyme will remember her as they participate in the third annual .

The event will be held as part of . All proceeds will go to benefit Caroline’s Miracle Foundation, which supports DIPG research and those suffering from the disease. The first 200 people who register will receive free t-shirts with the foundation’s smiley face logo. 

Do you have a story you'd like to see covered? You can reach me anytime at jayne.keedle@patch.com. You can help us spread the word that the Lymes Patch is launched by "liking" us on Facebook!