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Westborough DPW recommends bylaw changes and a March timeline to resolve sewer moratorium
Summary
DPW staff told the Select Board they have adjusted wastewater planning assumptions to bring projected town flow closer to permit limits and recommended rewriting regulations and the bylaw before Town Meeting so the moratorium could be lifted if approved.
The Town of Westborough’s director of public works presented an updated sewer flow analysis Wednesday that the department says narrows—but does not entirely eliminate—the town’s apparent over‑commitment of sewer flow and lays out a path to remove the moratorium.
Chris Pant, Westborough’s director of public works, told the Select Board the town’s historical allocations appeared on paper to exceed its treatment permit (4.27 million gallons versus a permitted 2.89 million). To address that, DPW staff convened three workshops with town personnel and adjusted the planning assumptions that feed the allocation model. They proposed changing the single‑family and multifamily planning factors to 50 and 65 gallons per day per bedroom, respectively, and using 70% of Title 5 commercial allocations for nonresidential users. Those changes, Pant said, bring modeled allocations closer to the permitted level and establish an 80 percent trigger as an internal "red line" to prompt reassessment.
Pant said the next steps are regulatory: the town needs to rewrite the flow‑allocation rules in its regulations and then update the corresponding bylaw language at Town Meeting. If voters approve the bylaw change and the updated regulations are adopted, staff will return with a recommendation to lift the moratorium ahead of its current expiration. Pant said the town will continue long‑term planning, including looking at options for additional wastewater capacity such as plant expansion.
The board asked how the changes would affect permitting. Pant said the revised numbers produce a projected full‑buildout flow of about 2.53 million gallons—below the 2.89 million permitted limit—and that, under those assumptions, staff believes it can responsibly issue permits while tracking use and preserving a buffer. He emphasized the numbers are planning factors with built‑in contingencies and said staff will monitor actual flows and report to planning and the Select Board.
Board members asked whether problems in neighboring towns served by the same regional treatment plant could shift responsibility to Westborough. Pant said each town has its own permit and enforcement path and that the town would not be expected to make good for another community’s overage.
The board did not take action on the moratorium Wednesday but directed staff to continue the regulatory updates and return with final language for board approval and Town Meeting consideration.
