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State awards $7.9 million for final design, construction of two village wastewater systems
Summary
The Town of Londonderry received about $7.9 million in State ARPA funds — roughly $3.97 million for each village — to finish design and build decentralized community wastewater systems, the Selectboard learned at its Dec. 19 meeting.
The Londonderry Selectboard on Dec. 19 announced an unexpected state award of roughly $7.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to design and construct decentralized wastewater systems for the town’s two villages. Town Administrator Shane P. O’Keefe told the board that the State’s allocation — about $3.97 million per village — must be encumbered and spent on a tight timetable and that public outreach must be accelerated.
“This award makes rapid progress possible and makes outreach urgent,” O’Keefe said. The town already holds planning grants and preliminary engineering work for the projects, and the award covers final design, potential right-of-way work and construction costs to expand village wastewater capacity.
Why it matters: The projects aim to provide modern community in-ground wastewater systems that serve small clusters of existing homes and businesses. Committee members have argued that expanded wastewater capacity is essential to correct documented water pollution in the West River and to remove a key barrier to expanding housing and village revitalization. Village Wastewater Committee chair Gail Mann said the funds are a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
What’s next: The Selectboard authorized the village wastewater committee to contract with the Windham Regional Commission for public outreach and to help hold community forums. The committee told the board it expects to move quickly to identify confirmed system sites and advance preliminary design to stay on the schedule required by State funding rules.
The board’s vote: The Selectboard unanimously authorized work with the Windham Regional Commission to provide community outreach services up to $10,000, with details to be negotiated by the Town Administrator and the wastewater committee. The committee will host a larger community forum and publish materials describing how decentralized systems would look and where early sites are being considered.
