WESTBROOK

On Wednesday, Oct. 9, Westbrook officials will hold a public information session in which they will provide an update on the proposed town center wastewater plan. The session will take place in Town Hall at 7 p.m.

In late 2023, First Selectmen John Hall, Town Planner Peter Gillespie, and representatives from the engineering firm Jacobson & Associates presented a conceptual plan for a wastewater treatment solution for downtown Westbrook. Coming out of that meeting, attendees asked for the town to get more concrete answers on cost estimates related to what the cost to the taxpayer would be and what the yearly fee for property owners would be.

At a Board of Selectmen meeting on Sept. 10, Hall said that the information session on Oct. 9 would be the first of what is likely to be multiple meetings where town officials can give an update on where the plan stands. No final decisions regarding the proposal have been made. Ultimately, if project is to move forward, it will need to be approved by the whole community at a town meeting or referendum. The session on Oct. 9 is purely to provide information and answer questions.

The Plan

At the 2023 meeting, Gillespie explained the proposed plan, but noted that it was conceptual and could possibly change. Gillespie said the initial conceptual plan calls for a gravity sewer collection system to service 50 properties in the proposed area. The sewer lines would be hooked up to each property, and existing septic tanks would be pumped out and closed.

Currently, the area handles about 17,700 gallons of wastewater per day. Under the proposed model, that number would jump to about 41,300 gallons per day.

Leaching areas would need to be established. A treatment facility at 1316 Boston Post Road would be built, although Gillespie clarified that it would be a small treatment center mostly underground, similar to what’s used at the outlets.

The Numbers

The cost estimate to construct the proposed plan was about $12,577,904. Furthermore, each property would pay an annual maintenance fee to use the service.

According to the 2023 presentation, the annual maintenance cost to be paid by the property owners—assuming no assistance from the town—would be $2,600 per equivalent dwelling unit (EDU). An EDU is the approximate volume of water used by a single family. Since the area that would be serviced by the proposed plan is mostly commercial, each property is likely to have more than one EDU.

As EDUs are added to the area, that price tag would come down, and that number could also be decreased by increasing the development and density of the area.

After the 2023 meeting, Gillespie said that the town would investigate ways to contribute money to the project, including a number of state and federal grants for which it could apply.

The major talking point from the meeting was attendees charging the town with finding more concrete answers to what the annual cost of the project would be. Part of deterring the potential cost is reliant on determining the interest of the property owner in the plan.

“We can’t find anything about grants until we hear from the property owners,” Economic Development Coordinator Jim Crawford said in 2023.

The History

The effort to revitalize Westbrook’s town center has been a goal for decades. The Town Center Revitalization Committee was first formed in 1997, and a 1998 report listed sewage disposal as a main concern for the area. Over the years, residents have reported that prospective businesses have decided to open elsewhere due to the constraints the lack of an adequate system places on the area.

A 2021 survey showed that 72% of respondents felt the town wasn’t doing enough in downtown and felt the town should do more. The town’s lack of a wastewater system impacts everything from potential business developments to more housing.

“Anything anyone wants to do downtown is governed by the health department, and that comes to the wastewater issue,” one speaker said at the time.

The proposed redevelopment of the outlets is not related to this plan, as that development is proposing its own wastewater system.