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Falmouth reports wastewater plant progress, sewer planning and grant bids for PRB projects
Summary
Town staff updated the Water Quality Management Committee on wastewater plant construction (about 30% complete), ongoing sewer planning, a new groundwater-discharge permit application, an upcoming joint meeting with the Board of Health, a PRB grant application for Snug Harbor, and an update on an ongoing urine-diversion pilot.
Town staff and committee members provided a series of operational updates on wastewater infrastructure, watershed planning and grant-seeking at the Water Quality Management Committee meeting.
Amy Lowell, a town department head, said work at the wastewater treatment plant is about 30% complete: the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) tank is installed and equipment installation is the next step. “The equipment will be going in at a later date,” she said, and the project is currently “on schedule and in budget.” Lowell also said the town has applied for a groundwater-discharge permit for the next phase of sewer construction but has not yet received approval.
Committee members described ongoing planning to balance sewer extension, innovative alternative (IA) septic systems and subsidy or management mechanisms. Chair Steve Refford and staff said the town is assessing sewer-service-area boundaries and mapping housing density to estimate sewer vs. IA tradeoffs. The group plans to procure a consultant through a request-for-proposals process to develop watershed-management plans across multiple embayments, with the committee serving as a public forum to review draft plans and provide recommendations to the select board before filing with state regulators.
On demonstration and grant projects, the committee reported progress on a proposed permeable reactive barrier (PRB) project at Snug Harbor. Committee members said they will submit a grant application using an established PRB approach (EVO) rather than an experimental method to improve cost-effectiveness; the town manager’s office has allowed the committee to submit the application retroactively and will review the grant request with the select board after submission.
The committee also heard a brief update on the urine-diversion pilot and related outreach. MassTech Center has extended a contract another year; the pilot has roughly 170 households tentatively signed up, committee members said. The town and the pilot contractor are discussing state rules about using public funds for work on private property; the committee agreed this item should be on a future agenda.
Members scheduled a joint meeting with the Board of Health to clarify overlapping roles, discuss the Board of Health’s proposed regulations, and coordinate public outreach. Lowell said she would like the committee to review and endorse watershed plans before those plans are filed with the state’s DEP.
