Tests are underway to determine the wastewater loading capacity of the Munn Field in Waitsfield where the town will develop a tertiary wastewater treatment system. That testing got underway this month and will continue through December.
Waitsfield has owned the Munn Parcel for two decades and has estimated its wastewater disposal capacity is 89,000 gallons per day (with pretreatment). This testing will provide the town’s wastewater planning team with more accurate and updated information on the capacity of the field to absorb waste, specifically the rate at which effluent is dispersing through the system, and how much phosphorus and nitrates the land can process.
That will determine how the waste is treated, according to Chach Curtis, a member of the select board and the wastewater planning team. The process of treating the waste and what supplies are needed will provided more accurate cost estimates as well.
On September 22, the town learned that its wastewater project was eligible for $2.5 million in Vermont ARPA Village Water and Wastewater Initiative funding. That ranking is based on its eligibility ranking for funding from the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The town’s eligibility rating for Clean Water State Revolving funds monies means the town qualifies for $5.25 million in funding.
Curtis said that the $2.5 million in ARPA funds will allow the town to complete final design of the project at a cost of about $500,000.
“That leaves two million to start construction. There’s still a gap between the grants we’ve been awarded and the cost of the project. We can complete design of the project while we pursue other funding sources,” Curtis said.
Waitsfield’s municipal wastewater system had been nominated for $7.5 million in Congressional Direct Spending earlier this year, but the funds were not awarded, Curtis said.
“We did not receive the Congressional Direct Spending this round. We met with our Congressional staffers, and they encouraged us to reapply. The closer we get to final design, the more likely we are to get that funding. They are looking for shovel ready and we’re not there yet. We expect to be there next spring or early summer. We’re learning through all these funding processes, that time is on our side. The more incremental funding we can get to further the project, the more likely it is that we attract additional funding,” he explained.
The town will reapply for the Congressional Direct Spending next year and is currently working on its application for grant funding from the USDA. That application will be submitted in December.
As the planning team continues work on funding and final design, plans are in place to put the project out to bid in 2025 and break ground in 2026. Curtis said the town may do an early bid to start on only the advanced treatment system.
“Then we could complete that design and put the rest out to bid on March 2025,” said
Earlier this year, the town received word that it will receive an additional $1 million in trickle down ARPA funds from the state to use towards final engineering for the project, enough funding to get the planning and final design from 30% to 90% completion.
The estimated cost of the wastewater system which will serve Waitsfield and Irasville villages is $15 million dollars. The system will pump wastewater along a force main from the service areas to the Munn Field south of Irasville where a tertiary treatment plant will be built. Wastewater liquids will be sent to the field for treatment while solids will be pumped from communal holding tanks throughout the service area.
The wastewater planning team has identified priority properties in the service area for hook-ups including those that are aging out, within flood overlay districts, encroach on well shields and are at greatest risk of failure. Those property owners will be able to connect to the system at no cost. The system includes additional capacity for increased residential and commercial growth in the service area.
On June 11, Waitsfield voters approved a $15 million bond for a wastewater system servicing Irasville and Waitsfield villages by a vote of 415 to 140. Throughout the planning process for the system and in the run-up to the vote, the town expressed confidence that state and federal funding sources could be found to fund most of the project and that long-term low-interest USDA loans would provide a $1.7 million shortfall if needed.
The town’s eligibility for federal and state funding has been enhanced by the fact that the project is so far along in the planning process.
