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Swansea board backs plan to pipe West Swansea sewage to Keene, not build local plant
Summary
The select board accepted a Water & Sewer Advisory Committee recommendation to pursue piping West Swansea sewage to the regional Keene wastewater plant, citing tighter EPA effluent limits and lower capital and long‑term operating costs; the committee will seek engineering, grants and voter approval for a bond.
The Swansea select board voted to accept a recommendation from its Water & Sewer Advisory Committee to pursue a connection that would pump West Swansea sewage to the regional Keene wastewater treatment plant rather than build a new local mechanized plant.
Scott, a committee member presenting the advisory group's findings, told the board the engineering study compared two main options: constructing a new activated‑sludge plant (estimated in the study at roughly $26 million) or piping West Swansea flow to Keene (roughly $16 million). The committee voted unanimously to recommend connection to Keene based on capital and operating cost projections and evolving permit requirements.
Scott said the latest EPA permit added numeric limits for copper (about 2.7 micrograms per liter) and an aluminum limit (about 85 micrograms per liter) for effluent — standards that the town’s lagoon system and current treatment approach struggle to meet. He also warned that future limits on nitrogen could make a locally upgraded lagoon plant obsolete within a few years, while the Keene activated‑sludge facility can meet those stricter standards.
The committee outlined next steps if the board approves its recommendation: further engineering to refine cost estimates, meetings with Keene and the Department of Transportation on routing and interconnection, pursuing grants and other third‑party funding, and preparing a bond article for voters (the committee suggested a 2027 warrant appearance). The presenters estimated current West Swansea flows at about 60,000–70,000 gallons per day and said ratepayers in the served area — not the town at large — would bear the costs through sewer rates.
Board member S4 moved to accept the committee’s recommendation and authorize the committee to move ahead with the planning, engineering and grant work; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
The board asked staff to seek more precise engineering figures, explore grant funding (the presenters said 50–70% grant support might be feasible in some circumstances), and identify likely impacts on typical ratepayer bills before placing a bond question before voters. The committee also warned the existing lagoon system would need to remain operational until the Keene interconnection is in service, with a multi‑year schedule anticipated for full implementation.
What happens next: staff will coordinate with the committee to scope further engineering, open talks with Keene and DOT about pipes and pump stations along Route 10/Lower Winchester Street, and return to the board with a refined cost estimate and a plan for financing and a probable warrant schedule.
