Old Orchard Beach residents to vote on $9.8 million bond for wastewater treatment upgrades

Old Orchard Beach residents will be asked on June 11 whether to approve a $9.8 million bond to complete upgrades to the town’s Wastewater Treatment facility.

The wastewater treatment plant at 24 Manor St. was built in the 1960s and expanded in the 1980s, according to information from the town. In 2020, town officials said that 70 percent of the system had exceeded its useful life, leading to breakdowns and occasional failures. The electrical system was also said to be outdated and not able to handle the facility’s needs, and the pump stations were near capacity and new users were not able to be readily added.

In November 2020, residents voted 4805 to 1008 to allow the town to borrow an up to $23.5 million low interest loan from the DEP to upgrade the Wastewater Treatment facility.

At a town council meeting last month, Brent Bridges from Woodard and Curran gave a brief overview of ongoing upgrades to the wastewater treatment facility.

The project is moving forward in phases, and in 2021, a new operations building was constructed. Last year, a sewer upgrade was made to Walnut Street using $1 million of funding received from a congressional earmark.

The $23.5 million approved in 2020 will cover critical projects including those that would alleviate code and safety issues and address capacity, structural integrity, permit compliance, energy savings and useful life issues, said Bridges.

An additional $9.8 million is needed for resiliency projects to protect equipment during storm events.  These would include raising controls on pump stations so that they will not be damaged during floods, installing back-up generators at pump stations, and replacing effluent pumps to better handle high water flows. This $9.8 million would also include projects that increase operational efficiency and address system redundancy.

The town has submitted requests for funding from the DEP Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund, another Congressional earmark, and a low interest loan from USDA Rural Development.

Residents will vote Tuesday on a referendum question asking to allow the town to borrow up to $9.8 million. Should the vote pass and the town borrow the full $9.8 million, property tax on a house valued at $400,000 would increase $8 a month.

Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Old Orchard Beach High School.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.