The Nantucket Sewer Department and its newly created Stormwater Division gave the Select Board an update Tuesday on a package of planned regulation, monitoring and capital work that officials said is intended to protect public health and Nantucket Harbor water quality.

The presentation outlined goals for fiscal 2026, steps to finalize proposed stormwater regulations that would establish a stormwater enterprise fund, a new island-wide sampling program for harbor outfalls, and a set of capital projects and staffing requests.

Department leaders said the stormwater regulations — about 90% complete — would create a utility funded by modest annual fees tied to impervious surface and different rate zones (a higher downtown rate and a lower rate for areas outside downtown). “We’re about 90% complete with those regulations,” Stormwater Manager Charles Johnson said, “and we’re ready to present those to town administration and the Select Board in May.”

The department described a baseline sampling plan that will install composite samplers and flow meters at five outfalls that discharge to Nantucket Harbor, with testing for nutrients, metals, oil and grease, and bacteria across roughly 10 storm events per year. The equipment was obtained with grant support and in coordination with the Nantucket Land and Water Council and the Great Harbor Yacht Club. Charles Johnson said the program is intended to quantify the town’s contribution to nutrient and bacterial loading into the harbor.

The department also described capital requests and near-term projects: a supplemental funding request of about $1,700,000 for an Airport Road pump station upgrade; an estimated $3,400,000 for Somerset-area sewer design; $1.89 million for Kato Lane pump station upgrades; and planned clarifier repairs at the treatment facility. Staff said the town operates two treatment facilities (Surfside and Scotten) and more than 80 miles of sewer collection lines, and has assumed stormwater responsibilities in 2024.

On operational items, the department asked to create a permanent data-entry position to support GIS, CMMS and other digital systems and noted continuing supply-chain delays on pumps and equipment. Staff reported the Surfside plant is saving roughly 32,000 kilowatt-hours per month from a recently installed solar array and that PFAS treatment technologies are an active area of evaluation.

Department staff said emergency stormwater repairs are planned in locations where aging corrugated metal pipes have failed, including areas near the Town Pier and Brant Point. The presentation emphasized the need for maintenance plans for constructed stormwater features and proposed that maintenance reporting be incorporated into the stormwater regulations and enterprise program.

Board members asked about zones, how credits for on-site green infrastructure would be handled, and the possibility of beginning stormwater prioritization at higher ground to reduce downstream pumping costs. Department staff said property owners who install and maintain green infrastructure could receive up to a 50% fee adjustment under the proposed program.

The department also warned that evolving state requirements — including anticipated Title 5 updates and future PFAS rules — will affect the town’s permitting and infrastructure obligations and may create new funding needs that the town will need to address through the enterprise fund or watershed permitting.

The Select Board did not take a vote on the regulations at Tuesday’s meeting; staff said they plan to bring the proposed regulations to the board in May after town meeting for formal consideration.

The presentation included requests for capital funding and personnel changes that will return to the board as distinct agenda items for review and action.