In a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Finance Committee voted to recommend a $36 million dollar repair to the town's sewer system, repeating a vote it made prior to the July Town Meeting. 

The Sewer Commission will request a $36 million borrowing authorization at the Fall Town Meeting, to occur on Monday, Oct. 23. This request repeats a proposal from the July Town Meeting that failed to pass the two-thirds mark needed for adoption. 

Sara Greenberg of consulting firm GHD gave the Finance Committee a presentation on the repairs, together with Chair of the Sewer Commission Bernie Pigeon. 

The presentation didn't convince everyone present. Finance Committee member Dom Cammarano Jr. voted against recommending the repairs. He said the Sewer Commission proposed repairs beyond what was necessary.

"I understand that people believe that, but no one has come in with an alternative," said Finance Committee Chair Norma Scogin. "No one has come in with any actual evidence that this is too much, that it's not the best way to go — everything that has been presented to us is that we need to do this."

"$36 million doesn't sound affordable … but I believe every time we put something off, it comes back to haunt us, and I just don't think this is the time to do that," said Scogin. 

The Sewer Commission and outside consultants have argued that the system’s “headworks” and “clarifier” — which handle sewage at the beginning of the treatment process — are reaching the end of their useful life and that replacing them is critical to keep the plant functioning.

The headworks have started to fail, and are no longer removing all of the material that they should, said Greenberg. That has consequences for the rest of the sewer system, as more material makes it further along and gums up later steps in the process, necessitating additional maintenance costs. 

The clarifiers don't meet current design standards and are past their life expectancy, Greenberg added. They separate sewage sludge from clean, treated water, but have begun to fail in this task. 

Studies from as far back as 2015 have identified the headworks and clarifiers as priorities for repair. Greenberg said if these two systems fail, untreated sewage could end up in the Agawam River, leading to environmental damage, beach closures and fines from regulatory agencies. 

Greenberg and Pigeon made a financial case for a swift approval of the repairs. 

If the Town Meeting votes to approve the $36 million of borrowing, the town will have access to special financing, they said. The state offers funding with 0% interest and up to 10% of the money back. The town has already qualified for this money, but it has an October deadline to complete its application, and it can't do so without authorization from Town Meeting. 

Wareham users of the sewer system will have to pay an additional $46 per equivalent dwelling unit, or EDU, per year. The repayment of the loans — and so the additional cost to residents — won't start until 2027. 

A rejection of the $36 million in borrowing won't make the repairs any less needed, but it could make them more expensive. If a sewer plant doesn't meet its permitted requirements — which could happen through the failure of the headworks or clarifiers — the federal government can step in, imposing fines and compelling the town to make repairs, said Greenberg. The town would lose access to favorable funding in that situation.