Corinne Peterson of the Buzzards Bay Coalition appeared during the March 31 public meeting of the Marion Water & Sewer Commissioners to discuss a sewer-capacity proposal that the BBC has worked on as part of a larger, Upper Bay project.

            The feasibility study is looking at the potential of regional wastewater treatment for Marion, Wareham, Bourne, South Plymouth and Massachusetts Maritime Academy in a facility to be located in Wareham.

            The concept is to discharge the highly treated effluent out to the Cape Cod Canal.

            Peterson said that the project could yield as much as 100,000 pounds of nitrogen reduction coastal waters in the area.

            The March 31 meeting was meant to identify potential locations in Wareham based on an evaluation of that town’s infrastructural capacity. Each of the other entities, including Marion, would presumably connect its infrastructure to that of Wareham.

            The BBC hired GHD Engineering to develop a sewer computer-automated-draft (CAD) model.

            Engineers Russ DeCamp and Lenna Quackenbush represented GHD, and Quackenbush presented an update of a study of Marion’s sewer capacity and the potential for connection into a regional network hosted by the Town of Wareham.

            Quackenbush began by explaining that the SewerCAD was constructed on the basis that 90 percent of water usage becomes wastewater. Designs are made based on 80-percent maximum capacity for gravity sewers.

            The yearlong study is considering three main sites where Marion might consider connecting to Wareham for wastewater treatment: the 21-inch interceptor on Swifts Beach Road, the Kennedy Pump Station and the Narrows Pump Station.

            “We analyzed what would happen if Marion would send its flow to those locations,” said Quackenbush, noting that Narrows Pump Station is the last station before reaching the Wareham wastewater treatment plant.

            Measuring Wareham’s existing daily flow in gallons, Quackenbush illustrated that remaining capacity at each location is as follows: 1,400,000 at Swifts Beach Road (300,000 during peak usage); 2,700,000 at the Kennedy Pump Station (1,400,000 during peak usage) and 4,000,000 at the Narrows Pump Station (2,100,000 during peak usage.)

            Marion would push 2,000,000 gallons per day of wastewater into Wareham’s system.

            DeCamp explained that in order for Marion to successfully access the 21-inch interceptor at Swifts Beach Road or the Kennedy Pump Station, it would require up-stream equalization using the lagoon at Marion’s wastewater treatment plant at Benson Brook.

            Commissioner John Waterman expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the study, saying he thought the answer to this question would be determined. Waterman said Marion needs to choose between spending $22,000,000 to run an 8-mile sewer line and one of the outlined options but was unhappy to see that a conclusion was not forthcoming in GHD’s March 31 presentation.

            DeCamp said GHD would be happy to work with Weston & Sampson to resolve the matter.

            Waterman suggested that a connection to a closer point would not decrease significantly due to inflation especially as it pertains to construction costs.

            Peterson said what the study has yielded is how much wastewater Marion must hold back in order to connect at the closest location (interceptor at Swifts Beach Road.)

            DeCamp displayed an inflation chart against lengths of pipe options to connect to the three designated points in Wareham’s system. He indicated that the closer Marion can connect, the more costs can be reduced. One the other hand, the closer the connection, the more Marion has to equalize to avoid overloading Wareham’s station capacity. “We have to find the right balance,” he said.

            Gaining agreement with DeCamp on the scale of such a project, Waterman said funding should be determined based on prices at least five years from now, which would be the ideal construction schedule.

            Marion Town Administrator Jay McGrail asked if there are design standards for treatment specifications for storage of wastewater during the equalization process. DeCamp said raw wastewater would be stored in Marion’s plant while taken offline.

            The commissioners also talked about sewer grinder pumps, of which 470 are estimated to exist on private properties in Marion. Some of the pumps are maintained by the town and others are owned and maintained by the homeowners. The town has estimated an FY23 annual maintenance cost of $80,000.           

            DPW engineer Meghan Davis presented a status update on Marion’s wells.

            Perry Hill Station (north and south) and Wolf Island are running in normal operation. Main Station is not in use due to production issues and will be evaluated as part of the Water Department’s FY23 capital request.

            The delay in getting Mary’s Pond well field online has been identified as a problem revealed in the field-testing of new submersible well pumps that are all performing below the manufacturer’s performance curve. New well pumps will be installed at no additional cost to the town, said Davis.

            Once the combined station is complete, both wells will be used regularly.

            The next meeting of the Marion Water & Sewer Commissioners was not scheduled at adjournment.