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Superintendent: Lincoln lacks capacity for 500 new hookups; town will wait for winter study before final approvals
Summary
Superintendent Peter Torres told the commission the town cannot currently provide water for a hypothetical 500-unit build and will delay final approvals until a Power Engineering availability study is completed this winter; developers may continue planning but proceed at their own risk, commissioners were told.
Superintendent Peter Torres reported that work has started on School Street and other water-main projects but cautioned the commission that Lincoln does not currently have the capacity to provide water for an additional 500 housing units.
"We don't have the available capacity to provide 500 units of water," Torres said, adding that the town's current position is to hold off on issuing final approvals until a Power Engineering availability study is completed and the commission reviews its alternatives. He said the study, expected this winter, will outline options such as hookups to nearby systems or new wells and could take years and intergovernmental agreements to implement.
Chair (speaking as meeting chair) and other commissioners pressed Torres on timing and risk to developers. Commissioners were told developers can continue with planning and obtain water-availability letters now, but those letters do not guarantee immediate hookups; if the study shows no feasible alternatives, hookups would be limited to available supply.
Public commenter Aaron asked whether water-availability letters had already been issued to some projects; Torres confirmed some developments already hold such letters and reiterated the town had not yet shut off applications. "It's first come, first served," Torres said of how availability letters are currently reserved, and he said the commission may consider conditional approvals tied to the study's recommended path.
Torres also said leak detection work has found several leaks (about six) that, if repaired, could free capacity equivalent to a few housing units. He described the technical challenge that multi-story developments impose for fire-protection flows and pressure requirements, which often make large projects the limiting factor compared with single-family homes.
The commission did not take a substantive vote on water approvals at the meeting; Torres said a decision about whether to begin issuing or to restrict approvals is likely to come after the study's December report.
