GROTON — Needing more time to review the ramifications of plans to build a sewer system in the Lost Lake neighborhoods and perhaps connecting the whole system with wastewater services in Ayer, the Board of Health chose to delay a decision on whether to support the concept at the fall town meeting.
Carol Quinn and Thomas Orcutt, members of the Lost Lake Sewer Advisory Committee, met with the BOH at its meeting on Oct. 3. At that time, they said the issue was not establishment of a connection with Ayer but only action needed to see if the proposal were feasible. But Monday night, board members still declined to make a decision.
Explaining her own uncertainty about making the Ayer connection, board member Susan Horowitz said she was concerned about the impact further development along the new sewer line where it ran through the Four Corners would have on the town.
It was her understanding, Horowitz concluded, that the sewer system and its wastewater treatment facility would remain in the Lost Lake neighborhood.
Orcutt replied that the reason for seeking the Ayer alternative was due to the fact that land on the grounds of the Grotonwood Baptist Camp that had been considered as a possible site for a wastewater facility had proved unsuitable.
The discovery, along with potential flow problems in the Lost Lake neighborhood where pumps would need to be installed to make up for low pressure, forced planners to look elsewhere for treatment options.
The move to bring sewer services to Lost Lake originated some years ago when consultants for the town confirmed that antiquated septic systems in the neighborhood coupled with the fact that more of the homes there were becoming year round residences, posed a threat to the environmentally sensitive wetland.
As a result, the Lost Lake Sewer Advisory Committee was established to study the issue of bringing sewer service to the area. The committee ended its mandate some weeks ago when it submitted its report to the Board of Selectmen with the three warrant articles that were being considered by the BOH last Monday night being the result.
While one article would seek support for submission of an application to the state for grant money to help pay for the sewer project, the other two were related to the Ayer solution including requests for appropriations of $40,000 to study the viability of allowing Ayer to provide the town with wastewater treatment services and $350,000 to pay for an environmental impact report needed before an inter-basin transfer of water could be made from Groton to Ayer.
Joining Horowitz in expressing concern about the Ayer option, fellow board member Jason Weber said that he remained unsure whether the reason for seeking an outside connection was valid given the environmental issues of Lost Lake.
Health agent Ira Grossman noted that plans to allow individual homeowners to decide whether or not to hook up to the new system would undermine the main purpose of the new system: to protect Lost Lake.
Grossman suggested instead that hooking up to the system be made mandatory both to insure protection of the area’s environment and to make the overall cost of the system cheaper for everyone.
With such issues yet to be considered, as well as needing to make a more careful reading of related documentation, board members decided to wait until just before the Oct. 17 date of town meeting to make a final decision whether or not to recommend the articles to voters.
Also last Tuesday night, board members chose to continue a hearing on proposed changes to the town’s bylaws governing the installation and maintenance of water wells.
Adopted in 2002 and last updated in 2006, the amended regulations consist mainly of the addition of definitions for such items as architectural wells, backflow prevention devices, and irrigation wells.
Other changes discussed last Tuesday included the location of suction or supply lines, testing of treatment systems used for improving the quality of water, and notification of abutters in cases where variances are being considered.
Finally, due to rising costs involved with legal notifications and employee insurance and cost of living increases, permit fees were raised from $60 to $75 for the Nashoba Boards of Health and from $20 to $30 for Groton’s Board of Health.
The BOH last Tuesday also voted to approve a number of variances to a plan to upgrade the septic system at the former Tarbell School in West Groton.
There, the conclusion of recent soil testing found that conditions were right for a septic upgrade and plans have moved forward to do just that. An article on the town meeting warrant will ask residents to appropriate funds to pay for the installation.
Last Tuesday’s vote by the board allowing a number of variances needed to make the project work including those dealing with offsets, soil testing, and shortened distances between inlets and outlets, will help to make the project work.
