South Lincoln treatment plant has capacity for more development

The first phase of an engineering study of the wastewater treatment plant near the mall shows that it’s working well and has additional capacity to handle some commercial or residential development in the area.

The plant in the field about 1,500 feet north of the apartments was built in 1975 to serve the Lincoln Woods apartments and the businesses in the mall. It’s now owned and operated by TCB (The Community Builders), which is paying part of the cost of the Wright-Pierce study. The town needs to know the status of the plant to make informed decisions about rezoning South Lincoln to allow for more types of development.

The plant is “a little long in the tooth” and the building used mainly for records and water testing is in bad shape and needs to be replaced soon, said Kevin Olson, senior project manager at Wright-Pierce, as he presented Phase 1 of the study to the Planning Board meeting on October 5. However, after visiting the plant and looking at maintenance records, the plant is “performing well and is not overloaded,” said his Wright-Pierce colleague Adam Higgins.

The plant’s state permit allows it to handle up to 26,000 gallons per day of wastewater, though its average annual flow is less than half that. “There’s still available treatment capacity and flow capacity,” Higgins said.

Assuming the plant is maintained but not substantially upgraded or replaced, it will cost about $311,000 for work that should be done within the next five years and another $121,000 (in 2021 dollars) for work done in five to 15 years, according to the study.

Phase 2 of the study will look at whether the plant can handle flow above 26,000 gallons per day (gpd) for which it’s permitted, alternative treatment methods with a life-cycle cost analysis, and a recommendation on how to proceed, both with flows and treatment type.

“The increase in flow will likely be cut off at 40,000 gpd, but we’re waiting for input from the Planning Board and SLPAC [the board’s South Lincoln Planning and Advisory Committee] if more is desired based on wanting additional commercial/residential development,” Higgins said in an email. 

The Phase 2 report is due in early December, with a report to the Planning Board expected shortly before Christmas.

Neither the board nor SLPAC has voted on how the cost will be divided between the town and TCB if plant upgrades are desired, “but my expectation is that whoever does the development will pay for any required treatment plant work or expansion,” board Chair Margaret Olson said. “That being said, the town does need to know what can be done and what it would cost before investing large amounts of staff and volunteer time into proposing changes that would require wastewater treatment.”