NAHANT — Town Meeting members voted unanimously Monday night to authorize the town to take out a state loan to pay for $3 million worth of sewer-infrastructure repairs.
With the 137-0 vote, the town will make its end-of-the-year deadline to accept the necessary funding from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).
A special town meeting was called to order Monday, with the sole article on the warrant pertaining to fixing the town’s outdated sewer system.
As part of this project, the main pipe in the system — which was built in the early 1980s and is used to pump wastewater from the town’s Ward Road Pump Station to the Lynn Water & Sewer Treatment Plant — will be repaired.
Since 2017, the town has already spent $2 million on emergency repairs to its sewer infrastructure. In 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued an administrative consent order (ACO) to the town, requiring it to replace a portion of the pipe by the end of 2021.
The town then began to work with engineering service Wright-Pierce to review options for replacement of the pipe. After deliberation, Wright-Pierce concluded that the Lynnway portion of the pipe would be prioritized for repairs over the Nahant Causeway portion, due to its quicker deterioration.
On Sept. 26, 2020, Town Meeting members voted to borrow $4.6 million from the CWSRF. Two days after this vote, another break occurred in the town’s main pipe, which resulted in MassDEP issuing the consent order. From there, MassDEP worked with the Town of Nahant to come up with a reasonable, but expedited, schedule for repairs.
The town now has a total budget of $7.6 million for the sewer-repair project. The $3 million approved at Monday night’s town meeting covers the additional cost of the project ― and amount needed to be borrowed from the state ― when adjusted for inflation.
While the sewer-repair project was initially quoted at a lower price, economic factors and inflation since last fall resulted in an increase in the contract. The lowest bid for the construction contract for the project was $8.8 million.
With the price increase, the town was forced to call a special town meeting, which authorized the additional spending through a higher loan from the CWSRF; the loan now stands at $7.6 million, with the $3 million increase that was approved on Monday.
Before the vote, Town Meeting member Gloria Barbacoff expressed concern with the new plastic piping and potential pollution that she said could result from the project.
“Is there any danger of the pipe degrading?” she asked.
According to Wright-Pierce, the new piping will consist of a plastic that is specifically designed for this project; it guarantees a minimum of 50 years and is safe in water.
Barbara Beatty, a member of the town’s Advisory and Financing Committee, said she was excited about the ‘yes’ vote.
“This is an issue of cost for the town, and as a member of the committee, we care about cost and efficiency for the town,” she said. “That’s our job. That’s what it’s all about. To have this project done in an efficient way, we are very fortunate.”
Hannah Chadwick can be reached at [email protected].