Lewiston officials press ahead with CSO separation, sewer lining and pump upgrades; projects to be bonded

Erica Kidd, deputy director for utilities, told the Lewiston City Council that the utilities’ Local Capital Improvement Program starts with work on combined sewer overflow (CSO) separation and other collection-system priorities, and that funding requests shown in the budget packet are “all bonded.”

The projects range from a Whipple Street separation that requires coordination under a railroad crossing permit to a programwide push to install cured‑in‑place liners in older sanitary mains. Kevin Gauthier, director of Lewiston Public Works, said the work is driven by federal requirements and long-standing consent/administrative orders.

“This project is to actually separate that system,” Kidd said when introducing the CSO work, explaining the goal is to keep storm water out of the sanitary sewer during wet weather. Gauthier said the city is “well past our initial 15 years” on CSO work and must “continue to, to vet these out and not have discharges to the river during wet weather event.”

Gauthier said Lewiston has pursued storage optimization — multiple storage tanks and a storage tank being constructed at the treatment plant — but that separation remains necessary because some parts of the…