Chincoteague council hears detailed sewer-collection plan, discusses customer fees and HRSD partnership

Town staff on March 3 briefed the Chincoteague Town Council on the island's sewer-collection project, an agreement with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD), and the customer costs and billing structure that will accompany connections to the new system.

Mike Talbot, who presented the project, said the town signed a construction contract for $2,248,000 to build a low-pressure force-main collection system through downtown Main Street and Maddox Boulevard to transport raw sewage to HRSD's treatment facility. "It's $2,248,000, and that's the project we were discussing earlier," Talbot said. He described ownership transfers that left the town with an unused DEQ discharge permit equal to 37,000 gallons per day under its current approval and said HRSD's phased replacement plans could reach 350,000 gallons per day at peak buildout.

Talbot described how customers will connect: "These pumps located on the customer's property will pump all sewage from the customer's business into the collection system," he said, adding that property owners will be required to furnish and maintain these on-site pump stations while the town will own and maintain the collection mains. Talbot said the town will bill new customers through HRSD for treatment at HRSD's standard rate but that the town needs a connection fee and an annual maintenance fee to fund system upkeep for the collection infrastructure it will own.

Council members pressed for detail on who pays for what. One council member said, "We don't wanna overcharge," and urged staff to carefully set any connection and maintenance fees so the system remains affordable while providing funds for repairs and upgrades. Talbot said the town has been using ARPA funds to avoid borrowing for construction; without that funding the town would likely have used connection fees to repay a loan.

The briefing covered route and capacity: the collection system will start at Sunset Bay and continue north on Main Street, turn at Maddox Boulevard, and serve the business corridors and adjacent properties as capacity allows. Talbot noted HRSD had asked the town to contribute $250,000 previously to upgrade aging plants and that HRSD has committed to replacing those plants with higher-capacity facilities by December 2026 as part of the overall plan.

The council directed staff to continue budget-personnel review of connection fee and annual maintenance fee options, and to consult with HRSD and other localities that have completed similar transitions. Talbot said staff will return with more detailed fee calculations and proposed terms for customer responsibility, billing, and maintenance.

Next steps: further fee analysis by staff, planning-commission work on rationing initial capacity, and continued coordination with HRSD on phased plant construction and permit expansion.