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Westborough trust urged to prepare for sewer capacity allocation as moratorium persists
Summary
Trust members heard that a town engineer's capacity assessment due in early 2025 will drive a multi-department process to allocate sewer connections under the town's moratorium; planners flagged potential legal questions about allocation expirations and whether allocations run with the land.
Members of the Westborough Affordable Housing Trust were told on Dec. 13 that a technical answer to how much sewer capacity can be reallocated under the town's moratorium is expected in early 2025 and that the trust should begin planning to participate in a cross-departmental allocation process. "That answer should be available either late in Q1 of next year or early Q2," Speaker 2 said, summarizing the town engineer's timeline and recommending stakeholder conversations.
The trust's discussion focused on what happens after a gross capacity number is set. Speaker 2 said several town entities'including the board of health, Economic Development Committee, building and planning departments and the conservation department'will need to weigh in. "We need to put in place a process for issuing connection permits," Speaker 2 said, while noting it was unclear which body has final decision authority and whether the select board or town meeting would need to act.
Technical assumptions about per-bedroom sewer flow were highlighted as central to whether the system is considered oversubscribed. Speaker 3 said Westborough currently uses a 110-gallons-per-bedroom number that likely overstates sewer-connected demand and cited prior local analysis that suggested something near 45 gallons per bedroom. "Reducing the gallon per day per bedroom calculation will dramatically reduce how oversubscribed we are," Speaker 3 said, adding that revising the standard would not by itself resolve policy choices about allocation expirations or transfers.
Trust members flagged legal and policy questions that could affect reallocation, including whether existing permitted flow "runs with the land" when a property is sold, whether unused allocations should expire, and how to handle allocations issued as part of permits if the permits lapse. Speaker 2 said these are likely to be "sticky" issues requiring counsel and possibly formal policy by the select board.
The trust agreed there was little immediate action to take until the town engineer's capacity number is released, but members resolved to begin outreach to the listed stakeholders so the trust can shape how allocations are distributed once the technical work is complete. The meeting closed with the trust noting that more detailed policy discussion and legal review will be necessary once the capacity and flow calculations are updated.
