Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...

Page created by Sergio Gonzales
 
CONTINUE READING
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Sewer Update for the Select Board
by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team
         September 13th, 2021

   Sewer 101 – A Brief 20‐Year History

   Opportunities & Challenges

   Planning for the Next 20 Years
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Sewer 101 – A Brief 20‐Year History
Town Meeting finally approved a sewer system for the downtown area in 2000 after more than 50 years
of saying “no”. Planned for 350 properties, the Town’s sewer now serves over 1,000, some 50% of the
properties in town. The sewer system has been expanded in 5 phases over 20 years with more than $60
million invested in infrastructure to date. But it is still underutilized with 35% of the abutters to the
existing sewer mains not yet signed up to connect.

There are a number of key considerations and constraints for Provincetown’s sewer system. The number
one consideration and constraint for the sewer system – the huge seasonal variation in flow, every year
is shown in the graphic on the next page. The Plant takes in about 10 times more flow on the peak
summer day than in the low period of winter. There is no other sewer system in the state that has to
operate so as to manage this large of a seasonal variation.

Plant Operation Constraints
The Plant was built and managed for this huge seasonal variation and the entire system must be
designed for the summer peak flows, particularly for the July 4th and Carnival peak flow weeks. The
Town’s permit with MassDEP requires sizing the Plant for the maximum day flow. The newly constructed
Phase 5 tank was designed to smooth out the summer flows and allow the Town to allocate more
capacity to users.

Almost 20 years of operating data has demonstrated that the actual flow observed at the Plant is about
60% of the Title 5 design flow. You will hear the Sewer Team talk about permitted Plant flow of 750,000
gallons per day which is 60% of the 1,250,000 gallons per day of allowable Title 5 design flow that can be
allocated to properties to be served by the sewer. Title 5 design flow is the parameter that MassDEP
uses to size onsite residential and commercial systems, and the Town has used this same parameter for
sewer planning and for Growth Management Planning because it is the best parameter for providing
consistency between different users as well as onsite systems and sewer connections.

The Plant operation constraints include the following three considerations:

•      1st: The MassDEP permit limit for the maximum day hydraulic flow. The Phase 5 tank allows the
Town to use all the permitted maximum day flow.

•       2nd: Biological treatment capacity to meet MassDEP effluent permit limit, and

•       3rd: Residual sludge processing & Storage for off‐site transport.

For the 2nd one, restaurant flow & grease are the biggest treatment demand and the processing of the
grease impacts the biological treatment performance. Restaurant flows occur during the peak hours on
the peak days, and there is a greater likelihood of process upset during the peak hour flows. Fats, oils &
grease continue to be a problem despite education of restaurant owners and Board of Health, Licensing
and Growth Management regulatory measures, including cleaning of grease traps, inspections, and
information on the cost benefits of properly managing their fats, oils and grease.

    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021           2
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Seasonal Flow Variation
                                                                                     (thru 31 July 21)
                         1,000

                          900

                          800                                       July 2014 Storm
                                                                         Event

                          700
Daily Flow (1000 gals)

                          600
                                        60% of Connected
                                              Title 5 Flow
                          500

                          400

                          300

                          200

                          100

                            0
                                 2003

                                        2004

                                               2005

                                                      2006

                                                             2007

                                                                    2008

                                                                            2009

                                                                                   2010

                                                                                          2011

                                                                                                 2012

                                                                                                        2013

                                                                                                               2014

                                                                                                                      2015

                                                                                                                             2016

                                                                                                                                    2017

                                                                                                                                           2018

                                                                                                                                                  2019

                                                                                                                                                         2020

                                                                                                                                                                2021
                                    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021                                         3
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Town Meeting Voter Constraints
There were also a number of Town Meeting voter constraints from 20 years ago. Voters wanted to limit
growth and not plan for downtown growth. And, MassDEP required the Town to limit growth to the
capacity of the Treatment Plant. This required that the Town’s Special Legislation governing the sewer
district limits each property connecting to the sewer district to a flow that it would be allowed to have
on site, or to its allowable flow at the time the sewer district was established.

The only exceptions are for public service uses approved by Town Meeting and for municipal uses. The
Public service uses that have been approved by Town Meeting are:

•       Economic development with an “Economic Development Permit”
•       Housing: affordable, workforce, inclusionary, and year‐round deeded rental
•       A laundromat

Another important Town Meeting voter constraint from 20 years ago was to serve only those who must
have or wanted to have a sewer connection. This meant that the sewer system was planned for existing
downtown businesses and only the others who wanted to connect. Uniquely in Massachusetts, the
sewer district was defined by those who connect, not by the abutters to “checkerboard district.” When
the sewer district was expanded during Phase 2, the then Select Board decided to keep the
checkerboard approach.

Financial Constraints and Cost Allocation Policy Decisions
There are also a number of financial constraints from 20 years ago, particularly that there is no General
Fund taxpayer funding with the exception of the betterments for town buildings. User betterments fund
the capital costs that are not covered by grants. Betterments are only assessed to those who commit to
connect, which means that, unlike most sewer systems, there is no abutter revenue to fund capacity for
future use.

Initially, 20% of the flow was from properties that were not yet in failure but would not be able to
comply with Title 5 when they did fail in the future, and those properties were allowed to delay both
paying a betterment and connecting to the sewer indefinitely until their system failed. The Rooms Tax
initially covered the shortfall from this delayed revenue, and it has also covered town‐wide planning
costs and shortfalls in interest on the debt. A recent Town Meeting decision has allowed priority uses to
also delay paying their betterment.

Without capacity for future needs or funding sources other than betterments and grants, each new
phase has depended on betterment revenue from large‐flow users who were either ready to connect or
under an Administrative Consent Order from the Board of Health due to a failed onsite system. And,
many areas have remained too expensive to serve with this funding approach.

An important cost allocation policy decision from 20 years ago was to make the sewer affordable for
year‐round residents. Betterments have been assessed based on Title 5 flow since this is a number that
can be readily determined for all uses. Town officials wanted the betterment to be competitive with
onsite system costs for residential users. For Phase 1, the betterment for a 3‐bedroom house was about
$11,000, increasing with the rate of inflation to about $18,000 now. Downtown businesses were
expected to pay their fair share of sewer costs since the system was sized for their peak season flows.

    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Engineering and Site Constraints
There were also significant engineering and site constraints 20 years ago. Treatment and disposal sites
had limited space for future need, and the system was sized initially for downtown needs without
provision for growth. Any expansion of the Plant site is constrained by protected land.

The allowable Plant flow has increased with the addition of the two peak flow tanks, and studies prior to
Phase 2 showed that the disposal beds could handle more flow than MassDEP had initially permitted.
Phase 5 maxes out MassDEP allowable Plant and disposal flow, and any additional capacity will be more
expensive that the phases to date.

There is also limited additional capacity on the downtown vacuum system. Gravity flow sewer mains
have been used for Phases 2 thru 4 and flows have been redirected off the vacuum to gravity sewers to
allow for growth and additional connections.

Increasing Demand for Sewer Over Time – “If you build it, they will come”.
Not surprisingly with a successful implementation of the sewer project, as well as changing property
ownership over the years, there was an immediate and increasing demand for connections and
additional flows over time. The collection system has been expanded with gravity flow sewer mains.
Each gravity flow subarea needs to have its own pump station.

Between phases, lack of capacity has limited growth and new connections. Since 2015, the “State of
Limited Capacity” has managed flows with allocations only for public health and priority housing,
economic development and municipal uses. Phase 5 will provide capacity for abutter connections as
well as these priority needs.

Over time, the priorities for areas to serve have included not only public health failures and public
service uses but also environmentally sensitive, low‐lying, and densely developed areas.

On the following pages, the first map shows all of the properties that are either connected or committed
to connect to date, from the far West End to the Truro town line. The second map shows all of the areas
served by either the vacuum or gravity sewer mains – this includes properties that are connected as
shown on the first map, as well as properties that abut a sewer main but have not signed up yet.

The third map shows each of the successive phases starting with the Phase 1 downtown vacuum sewer
and the Phase 2 thru 4 gravity sewer collection system as follows:

•       Phase 1: Downtown commercial District and waterfront residential areas
•       Phase 2: low‐lying & densely developed areas in the Shank Painter Basin and Court Street areas,
        and priority uses including Province landing and Seashore Point
•       Phase 3: Waterfront east end to Truro, Bradford Street & Extension in addition to many public
        health failures and
•       Phase 4: Additional interest from Phase 3 and the Campground adjacent to Shank Painter Pond.
•       Phase 5: Serves priority uses and abutters to the existing sewer areas and does not include any
        collection system expansion to serve new areas.

The graphic shows the Treatment Plant site, including the new Peak Flow Storage Tank in the lower left,
and Phase 5 process upgrades.

    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021            5
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   6
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   7
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   8
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   9
Sewer Update for the Select Board - by the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team Sewer 101 - A Brief 20 Year History Opportunities & Challenges ...
Opportunities & Challenges
The Phase 5 project provides the treatment capacity to allow additional flows to the sewer through the
provision of a peak flow equalization tank and process upgrades. This allows the Town to use all of the
remaining permitted Plant capacity. Of the additional 155,000 gallons of Title 5 flow that can be made
available, 30,000 is available now and the remainder will be available in the latter part of 2022 when the
Phase 5 process upgrades are completed. This additional capacity will not only be for public service uses
and public health failures but also for allowable Title 5 flow for abutters to the existing sewer. Serving
abutters may reduce future onsite system failures.

At the Sept. 13th Select Board meeting, the Board approved the recommendation from the Community
Development Dept. for the allocation of an additional 30,000 gallons to the State of Limited Capacity
categories as shown in the table on the next page.

The Town has a large collection system with the capacity to add properties. It serves areas with >75% of
properties and 85% of the flow in the town, but only 65% of abutters are currently connected or
committed to connect to the sewer – 35% are not.

About 100,000 of the allocated gallons from the additional capacity provided with the Phase 5 Peak Flow
tank will go to growth, either for additional housing units, economic development, or some municipal
uses. And 55,000 gallons will be used to connect more abutters to the existing sewer system, including
any abutters that are public health priorities. As approved by Town boards and Town Meeting in 2018,
Phase 5 does not include any expansion of the sewer collection system to serve new areas nor does it
provide sufficient capacity to serve ALL abutters to the existing sewer system.

The Town’s sewer system capacity will need to support town priorities in the future. This includes
promoting housing with sewer extensions and capacity and incentivizing abutters on existing sewer
mains to connect by removing infill restrictions in the future when additional capacity permits. This
would require considering amending the definition of public service use to include abutter housing, with
the allocation of gallons to be managed through Growth Management in a targeted manner.

The sewer system will also need to continue to support downtown economic development with capacity
and by making the approval process simpler. This could include ending the separate Economic
Development Permit process and relying on targeted Growth Management as well as the continued
required approval of the Water & Sewer Board.

The need for system resiliency for climate change and flood risk will be an increasingly important
consideration. Potential future causes of flooding include:
•      Forecast sea level rise
•      Coastal storm surge & major rain events
•      Moon “wobble” impact during the decade of the 2030’s.

Potential future areas that could flood include septic systems susceptible to sea level rise according to
the Board of Health, and the forecast sea level rise is 6 feet above mean sea level. The resiliency needed
for the cumulative impacts from potential future causes of flooding is an unknown, but at this time our
best guess of a worst‐case cumulative impact is a 10 ‐foot increase above mean sea level.

   Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021          10
The properties shown on the map on the following page are the ones that currently have onsite
systems. The cross‐hatched areas on the map show our best guess for a worst‐case cumulative impact
flooding risk. Any areas on the map that include properties with onsite systems and cross hatching are at
risk for this worst‐case flooding.

The Town, particularly through its Health Department and Board of Health, can work to ensure that
onsite systems are well managed, are inspected as required, and that property owners are made award
of the latest technology and financing assistance should their system require replacement onsite. At the
same time, the Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team will identify through the 20‐year planning process
discussed in the next section those areas of town that cannot be served cost‐effectively and will,
therefore, may need assistance from the Town to ensure that they can have a well‐managed onsite
system in the future.

                            Community Development Recommendations
                             For Allocation of Additional Title 5 Capacity

 State of Limited Capacity       Available now            Available later in     10‐year Planning
 Categories                      (Title 5 design flow     2022                   Total
                                 Gallons per day ‐        (GPD)                  (GPD)
                                 GPD)

 Public Health priorities        6,775                    20,000                 26,775

 Economic Development            4,000                    36,000                 40,000
 Permits

 Housing                         11,100                   35,000                 46,100

 Municipal                       1,350                    4,000                  5,350

 Abutters to existing sewer      6,775                    30,000                 36,775
 mains

 TOTAL                           30,000 GPD               125,000 GPD            155,000 GPD

   Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021         11
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   12
Planning for the Next 20 Years
The Dept. of Public Works has developed a roadmap for sewer planning for the next 20 years. This
includes developing a plan and funding options for resiliency and for replacing and upgrading 20‐year‐
old facilities through both planned maintenance for the next 5 to 10 years and replacing and upgrading
vulnerable infrastructure including downtown vacuum equipment and electronics.

The Administration wants to have a plan in place to be ready for any near‐term funding such as Federal
Infrastructure grants. And the Town will be receiving $480,000/year for 10 years from the Cape &
Islands Fund to help cover some of the sewer system’s maintenance and upgrades that are expected to
be needed after 20 years of service.

AECOM has developed a preliminary list of some of the shovel‐ready projects for near‐term funding
including:

•       Supporting the Town with wastewater planning

•       Vacuum Sewer system upgrades
              Work with Airvac to perform condition assessment and develop recommended
              upgrades/improvements
              Replace/upgrade vacuum pumps at central vacuum station (CVS)
              Evaluate flood protection/resiliency options at CVS
              Replace/upgrade vacuum structures in collection system
              Add vacuum structure monitoring system

•       Gravity sewer collection system subareas
                Upgrade pump stations
                Raise pump station electrical equipment/generators for flood resiliency

•       Wastewater treatment plant
              Add equipment to help mitigate ongoing grease issues at Plant
              Upgrade existing SBR mixing system
              Upgrade sludge processing system

The planning will also identify options for managing the peak period grease loads, including any new
technologies, equipment or process management techniques that can be used either at the Plant or in
the downtown area at or closer to the restaurants, as well as any financing assistance that businesses
can access so they can install the best grease management equipment.

    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021       13
Town‐wide Outreach Program to Identify Interest in a Sewer Connection
The Sewer Team will be conducting a town‐wide outreach program this Fall, both to areas that are
already served by the sewer, and to areas that do not have sewer. The Dept. of Public Works already has
a waiting list of interest totaling more than 10,000 gallons per day of Title 5 flow in areas already served
by the sewer. The Sewer Team will work with other Town departments as well as business and
community groups to “get the word out” about the outreach program and to encourage property
owners to reply. For example, the Provincetown Part‐Time Resident Taxpayers Association has
expressed interest in being involved with this sewer planning.

For those parts of town that do not currently have sewer service, each subarea requires its own pump
station for gravity flow. The results of the outreach to each of these subareas will allow the Sewer Team
to identify those areas that are affordable to serve, as well as those that are cost‐prohibitive to serve,
and then to prioritize the subareas to serve in the future. This outreach program can also help to identify
those areas and properties that may need to rely upon assistance from the Town to ensure that they can
replace their system onsite at such time as it may fail in the future because it would be too cost‐
prohibitive to serve them with a sewer extension.

In addition to the outreach to determine interest from property owners, the Administration will update
the forecasts for growth needs for priority uses and municipal needs. These include a new police station,
and housing at the former VFW site. Potential projects that may need a sewer connection or increased
flow include additional housing units at Maushope, a new DPW facility and the Provincetown Marina.

The next 5 pages include the following information concerning the outreach program:

•        A sample outreach letter that will be sent to all of the approximately 600 abutters to the
existing sewer who have not yet shown an interest in connecting to the sewer.

•       A second sample letter that will be sent to all of the approximately 500 properties located in
those areas of town that are not currently served by the sewer collection system.

•       A map showing the ~600 properties abutting sewer mains that have not yet signed up, followed
by a second map showing the ~500 properties located in the subareas that are not served by the sewer.

•       A table prepared by AECOM that shows the estimated costs to serve each subarea. The cost
estimates were prepared in 2015 and have been increased by 20% to provide an initial estimate for
today’s costs.

Note that the subareas that are the most affordable include all of the areas served by the existing sewer
mains as well as E‐3 and E‐9. E‐3 includes the Conwell neighborhood and Maushope, while E‐9 includes
housing on Race Point Road. All of the other areas are likely to be a lot more expensive to serve.

The column that shows cost per Title 5 gallons per day assumes that all properties in the subarea would
be assessed a betterment. If the current practice of only assessing a betterment to properties that
choose to connect remains in place, these per gallon costs would need to be increased by 50 to 100%
based on historical sign‐up data. These estimated costs are only for the collection system and do not
include the cost to provide the necessary treatment and disposal capacity to serve additional properties.

    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021           14
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   15
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   16
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   17
Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021   18
Estimated Collection System Costs by Subarea

                                                                     Collection
        Future Planning                   Approx      Title 5        System Est.       Cost/T5
No.     Areas                             Props       gpd            Cost              GPD

1       Existing Sewer w/ stub            95          70,047         $0                $0

2       Existing Sewer w/o stub/vac       293         161,514        $4,800,000        $30

3       Extension w/in Exist Subareas     199         102,801        $5,100,000        $50

4       E3                                176         105,023        $7,900,000        $75

5       E9                                65          50,014         $3,900,000        $78

6       W5                                38          23,570         $2,700,000        $115

7       E2                                20          11,220         $2,000,000        $178

8       W3                                40          17,600         $3,200,000        $182

9       W7                                51          17,820         $3,300,000        $185

12      E6                                28          9,900          $1,900,000        $192

10      E7                                27          11,330         $2,500,000        $221

11      E4                                49          22,529         $5,400,000        $240

13      E10                               6           4,005          $1,100,000        $275

                                          1,087       607,373        $43,800,000

Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021    19
Reviewing Town Policy & Legal Options
The planning for the next 20 years also needs to review Town policy and legal options including
considering the following changes:

•       Modifying or removing the checkerboard sewer district

•       Requiring all abutters to existing sewer mains to pay a betterment

•       Requiring all abutters in new areas to be served by the sewer to pay a betterment

•       Modifying the definition of public service use to support housing and economic development
        priorities, and

•       Modifying Growth Management as appropriate to support the Town’s priorities.

The Sewer Team will also review the process for increasing the permit limit with MassDEP.

Working with the Town’s design/build/operate engineering firm, AECOM, the planning will identify a
range of options for providing increased treatment and disposal capacity such as:

•       Serving all existing abutters and forecast growth for 20 years,

•       Serving priority areas identified thru the outreach program, or

•        Serving all of the town including growth and Beach Point in Truro. Serving all of the town in the
future including forecast growth and the Beach Point section of Truro would mean serving twice the
properties and twice the flow as served to date.

Planning for additional Treatment Plant capacity will include looking at satellite sites, as well as
expansion possibilities at the existing location. As a part of planning for future disposal capacity,
consideration can also be given to relocating some of the disposal beds so that the land can be re‐used
by the Town for important needs.

Betterments may vary substantially with the flows to be assessed in additional areas served or because
of any financing policy changes. The planning will identify potential funding sources for any future
expansion, including hoped‐for 25% of any capital costs being paid for from the Cape & Islands Fund
following approval of MassDEP State Revolving Fund application. And, for infrastructure that benefits all
of the town, the General Fund may be a future funding source, as is the case with other sewer systems
on Cape Cod.

The table on the next page shows the properties and flows served in the past 20 years and the Sewer
Team’s planning estimates for the next 20 years. Note that the 2000 Plan and votes assumed no growth
or expansion, while by 2021, 3 times the properties and 2 times the flow has now been served versus
the 2000 Plan. By 2030, we can serve thru Phase 5 about 1,250,000 gallons per day of Title 5 flow,
including an estimated 100,000 GPD for growth over this 10‐year period. Of the approximately 600
abutters to the existing sewer system, about 15% can be served in Phase 5 with the allocations
recommended by Community Development.

    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021          20
The next to last row of the table shows the estimated Title 5 flow with all of the town served including
the properties outside the current sewer area. And the last row adds to this planning estimate 200,000
GPD for growth after Phase 5 plus 150,000 GPD for Beach Point in Truro, for a total of 2,150,000 gallons
per day of Title 5 flow demand that would need to be met within the next 20 years, twice the current
amount served.

Of the total Title 5 planning estimate of 2,150,000 GPD, 1,650,000 is from existing Title 5 flow from all of
the properties in town, with 1,045,000 GPD served thru Phase 4, ~330,000 from the abutter properties
not yet served, and ~275,000 GPD from the ~500 properties located outside the sewer service area. The
total planning estimate also includes 350,000 additional Title 5 flow for managed growth – 50,000
allocated to date, 100,000 for growth to be allocated from the Phase 5 capacity, and an estimated
200,000 GPD for growth following Phase 5. The estimated Title 5 flow from the Beach Point area of
Truro is 150,000 GPD.

                               Properties Served in the Past 20 Years
                            And Planning Estimates for the Next 20 Years

 Year      Areas To Be Served                         Properties                 Title 5 Flow
                                                                                 GPD
 2000      Planning for Downtown area                 350                        550,000

 2021      Properties served thru Phase 4             1,050                      1,095,000

 2030      Can serve thru Phase 5 with                ~1,150                     1,250,000
           Mass DEP Permit limit

 2030+     Plan if all abutters are to be served      1,650                      1,525,000

 2040      Estimate with all of the town              2,150                      1,800,000
           served

 2040+     Estimate includes Growth &                 2,150                      2,150,000
           Beach Point Truro                          + Truro

    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021           21
Historical and Future Sources of Revenues
The table on this page shows that thru Phase 5, about $62,500,000 will have been invested in the sewer
system, with about ~20% of that coming from USDA grants including 30% for Phase 5, with the
remainder from betterments from users. The total cost includes an estimate for market borrowing for
additional collection system costs to serve flows added in Phase 5 over the 10‐year planning period.

The table also shows the $480,000/year from the Cape & Islands Fund for infrastructure from past
capital projects which can allow the Town to fund needed maintenance for the 20‐year‐old system.
Federal grants may become available from either the proposed Infrastructure Act or other legislation
that can be used for immediate resiliency upgrades and 20‐year engineering for future needs. The last
row of the table shows as an example the estimate if the Town were to decide to serve the entire town
and Beach Point in Truro. The estimated additional cost would be at least another $64,000,000 with a
hoped‐for 25% of that cost coming from the Cape & Islands Fund, based upon AECOM 2015 cost
estimates, increased by 20% to adjust for inflation to the present.

                                                GRANTS or
                                                Cape & Islands        BETTERMENTS            TOTAL COST
                                                (C&I) FUND
 Sewer System – Phase 1 Thru Phase 4            $10,700,000           $43,500,000            $54,200,000
                                                ~20%                  ~80%

 Phase 5 Treatment Capacity Increase            $1,800,000            $4,200,000             $6,000,000
                                                30%                   70%

 Est. costs to serve additional flows 2021‐                           ~$2,300,000            ~$2,300,000
 2030

 TOTAL thru Phase 5                             $12,500,000           ~$50,000,000           ~$62,500,000

 2021‐2030 – $480,000/yr.                       $4,800,000            0                      $4,800,000
 Cape & Islands Fund for infrastructure         100%                                         100%
 from past capital projects

 2021+ Resiliency and infrastructure            ???                                          ???
 upgrades – Federal Funds

 Option A‐ To be determined                     25%                   75%                    100%
 Example – Expansion to serve new areas

 Option B‐ Build‐out to serve all of town       Est. $16,000,000      Est. $48,000,000       Est. $64,000,000
 and Beach Point section of Truro               25%                   75%                    100%

   Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021       22
Betterment Rate to Cover Sewer Costs
The betterment rate for the initial downtown vacuum system flows 20 years ago was less than $35/GPD.
The current rate for Phase 5 and abutter connections is $55/GPD, and the estimated average for all
connections through Phase 5 is about $40/GPD.

In the future, although the average cost to serve abutters to the existing sewer is about $55/GPD, the
average cost to serve all of the properties in new areas of town is estimated to be $155/gpd and that is
only if all abutters in new areas are required to pay a betterment. If the historical policy of assessing a
betterment only to those who choose to connect remains in effect, the average betterment needed to
serve new areas is likely to be 50 to 100% higher based on history.

For a build‐out scenario that would serve both all abutters to the existing sewer and all of the properties
in the remaining areas of town, the estimated betterment would be $100/GPD, reducing to $75/GPD if
an additional 200,000 GPD of growth is also included.

                                                Next Steps

•       Prepare 20‐year plan for long‐term projects, to include cost estimates and timeframe

•       Provide the Select Board periodic updates on the planning process

•       First update recommended to be in late January or early February 2022 to include:

                1. Plan in place for near‐term federal funding

                2. Proposed sewer climate and flood risk resiliency upgrades

                3. Results of Fall 2021 outreach program

                4. State of Limited Capacity allocation and use update

                5. Identify any potential 2022 Town Meeting articles

    Sewer Update for Board of Selectmen by Dept. of Public Works Sewer Team – Sept. 13th, 2021            23
You can also read