EDITORIAL

Next steps for sewer review commission

Posted 12/17/13

Kick the can down the road.”

It’s a phrase that Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur used when describing the options facing the council over the extension of sewers and upgrades to meet Department …

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EDITORIAL

Next steps for sewer review commission

Posted

Kick the can down the road.”

It’s a phrase that Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur used when describing the options facing the council over the extension of sewers and upgrades to meet Department of Environmental Management (DEM) regulations.

Delaying sewers to more than 900 homes in Riverview, Longmeadow and Highland Beach [the Bayside project] and areas outside Ward 5 would only push up costs and provide no alternative to shoreline property owners with unacceptable cesspools, reasoned Ladouceur.

Last week, the council gave second passage to $33 million in bonds for sewers to six areas and to $23 million to upgrade the treatment plant and the Pawtuxet River levee to avert a recurrence of 2010 floods that did more than $11 million in damages to the plant.

Those actions came after an extensive review of the Warwick Sewer Authority and alternatives to sewers. The review commission, created by Ladouceur, met 14 times for an estimated 60 hours before recommending favorable action on the bond issues. The commission got down to the nitty-gritty of authority operations and the hurdles it faces, such as archeological findings in Bayside and ledge rock in Warwick Neck. The commission substantiated that assessments charged property owners for years failed to cover the entire cost of prior extensions and piled more debt onto the authority. In order to meet those debts, the authority boosted user rates.

The commission estimated assessments based on per-unit cost (rather than the linear foot system used for years) at $15,000 to $30,000. When coupled with user rates, it’s no wonder many property owners said they couldn’t afford sewers and called on the council to deny the bonding.

The alternative septic systems were estimated to cost less, if the property was sufficiently large and high enough. On the other hand, they could be even more costly, if they could be built at all, on some small waterfront lots.

As for the plant upgrade, the commission found no alternative. The authority ruled out a legal challenge of the DEM, deciding chances of winning were low and the legal costs would be a waste. The commission came to a similar conclusion.

Ladouceur says the commission’s work is not complete. He said it would continue to look at ways to reduce costs and restructure the governance of the authority to give the council greater control. Unit assessments and changes in governance will require enabling legislation from the General Assembly.

As for the cost of projects, Ladouceur looks to share digging costs with other utilities, implement controls on construction and research grants and other forms of funding that could lower costs.

Approval of $56 million in revenue bonds is a critical first step. The commission is to be commended for its diligence and thoroughness and the council for not “kicking the can down the road.”

Now, as Ladouceur has vowed, we look forward to the commission’s continued oversight toward a cleaner environment that we can afford.

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