Sewer overflow project tested by heavy rain

PROVIDENCE — The heavy rains over the last two days gave the Narragansett Bay Commission its first opportunity to put its newly completed, $359-million combined sewer overflow project to work gathering contaminated runoff from the city’s sewers. The conclusion: it worked!

From the time the sewer line gates were opened late Wednesday night, some 39 million gallons of contaminated overflows were collected in the new, 3-mile tunnel under downtown Providence. No contaminated sewage was allowed to overflow into the city’s rivers or Narragansett Bay, according to the commission.

During the day today, a battery of massive pumps transferred the overflows from the pipe, 300 feet underground, to the Fields Point Sewage Treatment Facility, where it is receiving full secondary treatment.

“It caught everything, which was great. Everything got full treatment all around,” Bay Commission spokeswoman Jamie Samons said.

Nearly an inch of rain (.83) fell on Providence during the storm, according to the National Weather Service. Following its protocols, the state Department of Environmental Management closed much of the upper Bay to shellfishing until Nov. 15. DEM officials say it will take some time to assess the effectiveness of the new CSO, so it can reduce the number of closures following rains.

— Peter B. Lord

Brown University imposes hiring freeze

PROVIDENCE — Brown University says it is imposing a hiring freeze for staff and administrators through January in response to the nation’s financial crisis. The Ivy League school says it also will review its spending to determine which renovations and new building construction can be delayed.

The university is in the middle of the most ambitious expansion in its 244-year history, a $400-million effort called the Plan for Academic Enrichment, adding 100 new faculty and buying and constructing new buildings on its College Hill campus as well as in downtown Providence. In addition, Brown has aggressively increased its endowment, which in March stood at $2.6 billion.

The university will move more cautiously on such expansions, according to Brown President Ruth Simmons.

Proposed faculty appointments also will be scrutinized and other organizational changes may occur “to achieve efficiencies and enable the reallocation of resources to student support and academic programs,” according to a Brown news release.

Simmons announced the measures earlier this week, saying the school was facing an “unprecedented level of uncertainty” about the state of the economy.

Other colleges and universities have taken similar steps.

Recognizing that many parents are also struggling with the effects of the sagging economy and stock market, Brown’s financial aid office announced late last month that it would allow students with unpaid balances to register for the spring semester.

— Associated Press and staff reports