From the desk of Muriel Kramer
The biggest project before Hopkinton today is the Wastewater Treatment Facility planned for the Fruit Street Property.The community has an established immediate need to access 100,000 gallons per day (gpd) of sewer capacity to support desired commercial growth primarily in the South Street sector, and the plan is to build a facility on Fruit Street to handle that 100,000 gpd.
A project of this scope needs a tremendous amount of momentum to ensure continued progress.That momentum seems to be in place; however, the desire to keep focused on the goal of a WWTF on Fruit Street sets up a circumstance that works to discourage other ideas to address wastewater.That is a mistake.Hopkinton must continue to work the core issue—accessing wastewater treatment capacity as soon as possible, as cost effectively as possible.
The WWTF project is currently facing delays and challenges largely because of its location near sensitive wetlands.Those challenges are costly, time consuming and frustrating.Hopkinton has every reason to expect a long and somewhat tortuous appeals process between now and construction of a WWTF on Fruit Street; we don’t have to like that reality in order to accept it, deal with it and keep working the core issue in spite of it.
The central issue is gaining access to additional waste water treatment capacity, and we should work hard together to effect progress that addresses the core issue.Fixating on one solution and ignoring other solutions is short sighted and detrimental.The voters at TM don’t want us to stop working the problem and give in to the delays; they expect progress on the WWTF and they expect progress on the core issue of gaining access to necessary capacity to support our commercial customers.
We can access 100,000 gpd or more of needed treatment capacity nearly immediately by retrofitting the existing infrastructure to reduce Infiltration and Inflow (I&I); we can gain necessary gallons, save money and improve recharge simply by ensuring our existing system is as tight and efficient as possible.
We should also look at less immediate possibilities for the near future; they should include negotiating with Westborough for additional capacity especially if we tighten up the existing system to reduce I&I, exploring with Westborough the possibility of bringing back treated effluent to discharge in Hopkinton and expand our gpd treatment limit by doing so, and also studying the possibilities of incentives or mandates to encourage the use of low flow toilets & showers for customers on the system.
The core issue is finding sewer capacity, and the WWTF is one solution.It is, however, not the only avenue to pursue.We need to keep striving to make progress on all workable and reasonable solutions. Let’s put all the facts on the table and consider all known options, factors and realities; we can and must meet the needs of the Phase VI customers much more quickly, efficiently and inexpensively by looking at all the additional options.
I propose a working group made up of business leaders, the Town Manager, the Facilities Director, the Director of Public Works, DPW designee(s) and BOS designee(s) to hard target realistic near term solutions to expand our sewer treatment capacity and allow for desirable commercial growth.
My goal is to start a dialogue that establishes more possibilities, reduces the pressure and frustration that exists, and allows for progress on the core issue—increased sewer capacity to support commercial development as soon as possible.