Southborough committee explores golf-course irrigation as potential wastewater disposal site

The Town of Southborough Wastewater Study Committee on March 31 focused its meeting on finding a long‑term disposal site for treated effluent, including the possibility of using the municipal golf course for irrigation.

Committee members identified locating a disposal/recharge site as the “highest priority,” and discussed outreach to the Sudbury Valley Trustees and the golf course management as near‑term steps. "We need to find a disposal site," Speaker 1 said, summarizing advice the committee received from consultant Lombardo.

Why it matters: the committee said identifying an acceptable disposal location is a prerequisite for moving design, permitting and financing forward. Without a site, other planning steps such as pump‑station siting, conveyance, and phased construction cannot be finalized.

Committee members reported that Lombardo told them on the technical side the golf course irrigation approach is feasible but will require confirmatory studies. "He was very clear that it works," Speaker 2 said, describing Lombardo’s view that winter‑time irrigation and mixed surface/drip approaches have been done elsewhere. Members discussed options including surface irrigation in summer with subsurface drip or emptying lines to avoid freeze issues in winter, and storing treated effluent in tanks so pumps can deliver flows on a controlled cycle.

Participants flagged specific technical follow‑ups: hydrogeologic testing at candidate disposal sites to measure receiving‑soil capacity; soil borings and percolation/groundwater monitoring; and analysis of conveyance distance and pumping costs if treatment and disposal are not co‑located. "There needs to be some hydro geo studies to advance to determine what soils are there," Speaker 2 said.

The committee discussed operational models and examples. Members cited Madison Place (a development served by an on‑site system and storage tank) and small private plants in neighboring towns as precedents. They noted some private systems have been permitted and operated in nearby communities and that a fully private, vertically integrated operator (design/build/operate) is a possible model for Southborough.

Landowner and permitting issues were also raised. Members recommended meeting soon with Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) to ask whether SVT would allow reuse on SVT‑managed land and to discuss potential constraints. The committee noted that any disposal site intended to support a district would likely need to be part of whatever financing overlay or sewer district the town adopts.

Next steps the committee set in the meeting included: arranging site‑visits to existing systems Lombardo cited; scheduling outreach with SVT; commissioning targeted hydrogeologic soils work on shortlisted sites (including the golf course fairways); and clarifying the treatment‑to‑disposal conveyance options (co‑located plant vs. pumped disposal). Speaker 1 said members would follow up to secure price estimates and field samples.

Ending: Members agreed that confirming technical feasibility and landowner willingness are immediate priorities before heavier work on design and financing begins.