Tiverton Town Council to Consider $71.74 Million Sewer Expansion

Grappling with state and federal mandates to cleanup groundwater flowing into the Mt. Hope Bay, the Tiverton Town Council will consider a $71.74 million sewer expansion on Monday, reports The Sakonnet Times.

The plan to improve the town's wastewater facilities would increase the number of homes connected to sewers from about 550 to 4,000 homes in north Tiverton over 20 years of construction. The state Dept. of Environmental Management required Tiverton to upgrade its wastewater facilities after discovering pollution in the Mount Hope Bay from failed septic systems in the Robert Gray Avenue Watershed and the Summerfield Lane Watershed.

If approved by the council, the wastewater facilities improvement plan would be forwarded to DEM.

The plan that was unanimously approved by the town's seven-member Wastewater Management Commission would put the town in compliance with DEM mandates to decrease pollution as well as the Rhode island Cesspool Act of 2007 that requires all properties within 200 feet of the shore to replace cesspools by January 2014.

The plan calls for the creation of a sewer district and, according to the Sakonnet Times article, prioritizes neighborhoods most in need of improvement - Riverside Drive/Stone Bridge area, the Bay Street area, and the Robert Gray area - on a construction schedule.

Under this plan, individual homeowners could opt out of connecting to town sewers and install onsite septic systems - generally a more costly alternative.

Should the plan be approved by the council and DEM, the plan and creation of a sewer district would need to be approved by the state legislature.

Management of the Tiverton sewer system would rest with the sewer district. Much like the town's fire district, the sewer district would levy a tax against residents within the district to pay for maintenance and other costs.