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Weymouth mayor outlines MWRA water extension, ties project to Southfield redevelopment and FY26 budget stress
Summary
Mayor Robert Hedlund and chief of staff Ted Landryl told the North Weymouth Civic Association the town is advancing an MWRA pipeline extension supported by a $2.6 million state grant while adopting an FY26 budget that raises the quarterly trash fee to $276 to close a $3 million gap in trash and recycling costs.
Mayor Robert Hedlund and town staff told residents that a planned Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) pipeline extension to serve the Southfield redevelopment and the town at large is moving through feasibility and environmental review, backed by state grants and federal support.
"We received a $2,600,000 grant from the state to do a lot of the design work," Ted Landryl, the mayor’s chief of staff, told the meeting. Landryl said that grant will pay for design, permitting and parts of sewer permitting and intersection work connected to the extension. He described an alternatives analysis this fall, a draft environmental impact report next winter and a final environmental impact report by late 2026, with final design and permitting in 2027–28.
The mayor and staff framed the MWRA work as tied to housing and broader redevelopment: Hedlund said the extension would support growth and water-quality improvements and that some local water sources such as wells are likely to be taken offline. "We're gonna still have a water department," Hedlund added, but said the town’s operations would change and that Great Pond could become a secondary or backup source depending on MWRA decisions.
Town officials said the MWRA work has strong state interest. Landryl said the project team has met with the lieutenant governor’s office and the governor’s office and expects additional grants and support; he also said the MWRA is waiving its entry fee for the project, lowering costs to ratepayers.
Officials tied the water work to the town’s broader fiscal picture. Landryl presented the FY26 operating budget and detailed rising fixed costs driven in part by employee health insurance increases. He said the town faced a budget gap in the trash and recycling fund—projected FY25 costs of about $5.9 million versus expected revenue of $2.8 million—and is raising the quarterly trash fee to $276, "which is a $27 increase per quarter." He said the change is expected to raise roughly $2 million and that a senior discount will reduce the quarterly increase for seniors.
Landryl framed the fee change as a user fee and a means to protect other town services from cuts. "I couldn't justify cutting other budgets when there's a $3,000,000 gap in our trash fee budget," he said. He also noted the town’s efforts to limit rate impacts by pursuing external grants for capital projects.
What comes next: officials said the MWRA alternatives analysis should be completed this fall, followed by environmental review and comment next year. The budget and trash fee increase are enacted for FY26; residents were urged to attend upcoming town-budget briefings and the annual town meeting for more detail.
