Westerly weighing its waste treatment options | Westerly – The Westerly Sun

WESTERLY State officials are reviewing an early version of a report outlining options for improving the quality of water that is discharged into the Pawcatuck River after it is treated at the municipal sewer treatment plant.

While town officials await feedback on the report from the state Department of Environmental Management, efforts are underway to secure grant funds to build a berm around the plant. The report was developed by Jacobs Engineering, the company the town contracts with to operate the plant.

Additionally, town officials learned recently that two grant awards totaling $304,000 had been approved from the Resilient Rhody Resilience Program for construction of a retaining wall for the old Canal Street pump station and for establishment of an infiltration swale on State Street and a wet swale around Timothy Drive. The swales and retaining wall are all flood protection efforts.

The Jacobs report presents three options, each with a different level of nitrogen removal. William Beauregard, the town's utilities superintendent, told the Town Council on Monday that DEM will make a determination based on input from federal environmental authorities and based on a study the department conducted of Little Narragansett Bay last summer.

"We'll have to come to a middle ground somewhere ... but the amount of funding that is going to be required no matter what level we have to go to, in my opinion, will require a bond because it will be a substantial sum," Beauregard said.

Town officials are also seeking a $4.2 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to build a protective berm around the treatment plant. Town Manager J. Mark Rooney said the berm is needed to protect the plant and future investments in it from potential flooding. The grant would require a $1 million match from the town. An answer on the town's grant application is expected in late March or April, said Lisa Pellegrini, director of the municipal Development Services Department.

Town Council President Christopher Duhamel said the review by Beauregard and Pellegrini points to one of the council's financial priorities in addition to the School Committee's work on a school building project.

"It's not just the school bond ... we have to protect our infrastructure. We can't let this slide," Duhamel said.

Protecting the town's sewage treatment plant and its drinking water supply emerged as two of the top priorities during a community resilience building workshop in August. Conducted as part of the Resilient Rhody Resilience Program, a climate resilience action strategy undertaken by Gov. Gina Raimondo and her administration, the workshop positioned the town to qualify for about $1 million in grant funding, according to Pellegrini.

Altogether Pellegrini's department has submitted applications for up to $7.2 million in grants, including required matches, to state and federal agencies for measures to protect the treatment plant and for a stormwater drainage project. Pellegrini thanked Gina Fuller, a resident and Southern Rhode Island Conservation District manager, who played a primary role in organizing the Resilient Rhody Resilience workshop.

A more detailed presentation before the Town Council on needed improvements to the treatment plant is scheduled for Feb. 24.

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Westerly weighing its waste treatment options | Westerly - The Westerly Sun