Water and wastewater heads warn of drought pressure, Surfside upgrades, and coastal resiliency needs
Loading...
Summary
Water and wastewater officials told the committee drought conditions and rising material costs threaten revenue, and major capital work — a $5.4M phase for the treatment plant, a pump station for Surfside conveyance and a vac‑truck pretreatment system — are planned. Officials also said they received a $250,000 coastal resiliency grant.
Mark Willett, director of water operations, and David Gray, wastewater superintendent, briefed the Finance Committee on a set of operating pressures and capital projects affecting the town’s water and wastewater enterprise funds.
Willett said material prices for service connections and inventory supplies are climbing and cautioned that current drought conditions (the town is at a level 3) could reduce irrigation pumping and therefore water‑sales revenue, a major income source for the water enterprise. He said revenue exposure would be managed by cutting discretionary expenses if necessary.
Gray described capital needs at the Surfside treatment plant and supplemental funding requests driven by rising costs: he said the supplement is intended to complete an upgrade and to provide conveyance via a new pump station for an already-installed dry sewer line. Gray also described a planned vac‑truck dump station that will pretreat catch‑basin debris and recover heavy materials for road‑base recycling, while treating liquid wastes prior to plant entry.
On coastal resiliency, Gray said three discharge beds closest to the shoreline are offline after past overwash and that the town obtained a $250,000 Coastal Zone Management (CZM) grant to study dune restoration and other protection options for critical infrastructure. Gray said engineering surveys and ongoing coordination with state agencies and consultants are in train to identify practicable protections.
The committee pressed for timing and cost details; officials said cost escalation and long procurement cycles are complicating planning and that some capital items will be in the committee’s capital recommendations for town meeting consideration.
