Connecting to Waitsfield’s wastewater system will require connecting to the town’s municipal water system. That is the plan which the Waitsfield Select Board discussed at its meeting this week on February 9.
The board voted to ask the town’s Water Commission to draft a wastewater ordinance that includes those requirements. The draft ordinance will return to the select board for review.
Board chair Brian Shupe said the discussion reflects the town’s transition from wastewater system planning to construction and long-term operations.
PULL THE TRIGGER
“As we really pull the trigger on construction, we’re going to need to develop an ordinance, and that’s where you’re going to address all these issues,” Shupe said.
The proposal grew out of recent Water Commission discussions about how the wastewater system should be managed once built. One topic was whether the commission should serve as an advisory body for both water and wastewater, rather than maintaining separate groups.
A key issue is the need to monitor water usage to understand how much wastewater flows into the system. Town officials said accurate data is essential for managing capacity, billing users fairly and potentially expanding the system in the future.
Water commissioner Robin Morris said the town’s existing billing software tracks water inflows and wastewater outflows when water is metered.
INFLOWS/OUTFLOWS
“If we meter the water, we’re working on the total inflows of the water coming in and the outflows of wastewater,” Morris said.
The wastewater field is designed around a standard estimate of 210 gallons per day per residential unit. Morris said that estimate could potentially be lowered if real usage data shows residents use less water than assumed.
“If we went down to 190, we’d increase the capacity of our field by 10%,” Morris said.
Increasing capacity means the town could serve more users without expanding infrastructure and reduce costs by spreading expenses across more connections, Morris said.
Board member Chach Curtis said metered data could allow the town to seek a revised permit from the state after the system has been operating long enough to establish usage trends.
“If that actual usage is 190 instead of 210, then we’re able to connect more users and generate more fees,” Curtis said.
Most priority parcels identified for early wastewater connection have already indicated interest in connecting to municipal water, town officials said. However, several property owners have said they do not want to connect to town water.
TWO OPTIONS
Town administrator York Haverkamp said four property owners have declined water connection, four have not yet responded, and the rest are already connected or intend to connect.
The Water Commission discussed two options for those who want wastewater service but not town water: either connect to municipal water or purchase and install a town-approved meter on their private well so water usage can be monitored.
“We will sell the landowner the meter for wastewater,” Morris said. “They would meter their own well.”
Morris said that approach is possible but not ideal, adding that metering every connection is critical to the town’s ability to manage wastewater capacity and costs.
Meters and related equipment typically cost about $1,000 for a standard residential connection, Morris said.
Ultimately, the board rejected the option of allowing property owners to self-monitor.
WATER QUALITY
Board members also discussed water quality concerns in parts of Waitsfield. Morris said not all private wells in town produce good-quality water and noted that some property owners have chosen to connect to town water because of iron and discoloration issues.
“It’s not a question of if, but when,” Morris said, referring to eventual widespread connection to municipal water.
The board also discussed the fact that some water sources in the services areas have had contamination issues, including from PFAS. That could potentially impact the effluent treatment and quality at the town’s treatment facility.
Historically, Waitsfield has not required mandatory water hookups. Morris said the select board took that position when the water system was built in 2007, and most connections since then have been voluntary or prompted by well failures.
Under town ordinance, new wells cannot be drilled if an existing well fails, effectively requiring connection to municipal water in those cases. Several properties, including the Eagles Resort and Verd Mont mobile home park off Tremblay Road, have connected under those circumstances.
PRIORITY PARCEL
Shupe said wastewater connection itself remains voluntary, but tying it to water service would make the system easier to manage.
The board also discussed wastewater allocation and long-term planning. Haverkamp said the system is expected to be small and demand is likely to exceed supply, making allocation decisions especially important.
“On the one hand, what is a priority parcel for? It’s public health, river health,” Haverkamp said. “On the other hand, we’re trying to advocate wastewater for smart growth, for housing.”
Morris said the town’s experience with a previous wastewater loan program showed businesses tend to move faster than residential property owners, creating a risk that capacity could be consumed before housing needs are addressed.
“Getting that balance is going to be really, really important,” he said.
The board also reviewed operational issues, including the town’s contract with Simon and Simon, its water system operator, which expires at the end of the year. Shupe said it would not make sense to operate water and wastewater systems separately and emphasized the importance of involving operators in system design.
To move the process forward, Shupe asked for a motion directing the Water Commission to draft a wastewater ordinance that includes a requirement linking wastewater connection to municipal water service.
Curtis made the motion, and the board passed it.
