Old Orchard Beach voters approve wastewater treatment upgrades

Old Orchard Beach residents voted in favor to allow the town to borrow up to $9.8 million to continue improvements to the Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Voters approved the measure 816 to 148 at the polls on Tuesday.

The wastewater treatment plant at 24 Manor St. was built in the 1960s and expanded in the 1980s.

The $9.8 million approved on Tuesday will be used on projects to increase operational efficiency, address system redundancy and to protect equipment during storm events. These improvements 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.

These projects would supplement ongoing improvements at the wastewater facility funded by a $23.5 million low interest loan from the DEP approved by voters in 2020. The $23.5 million will cover critical projects including those that alleviate code and safety issues and address capacity, structural integrity, permit compliance, energy savings and useful life issues.

Voters in Old Orchard Beach also approved the $16.9 million Fiscal Year 2025 School Budget in a 767 to 198 vote.

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