JAY — A feasibility study shows it would be more affordable in the long run to build a system to send sewage from North Jay to be treated in Livermore Falls than to continue to upgrade the Jay plant.
In the short term, it would cost less to upgrade Jay’s plant, but it would need additional upgrades on a 20- to 25-year basis, according to the report by Wright-Pierce engineers of Topsham.
The plant in North Jay is nearly 20 years old.
Town officials will consider the options at 6 p.m. Monday, June 25, at the Town Office.
The options are whether to upgrade the Jay facility or to build a system to run beside the Whistle Stop Trail to connect with the wastewater collection system at Jay Plaza and to go to the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant. The system would consist of a pump station at the North Jay treatment facility and a force main from the facility to the mixed-use trail on Old Jay Hill Road.
Permits and legislative approval to run the sewer line beside the trail, which is owned by the state, would be needed.
The cost to upgrade the Jay plant is estimated at $1.6 million. At the end of the 20-year period, the cost of future upgrades to the North Jay plant would be in order of $2 million. The pump and control replacements for the new system would cost in the $100,000 range, according to the report. The cost to set up a new system is estimated at $3.9 million.
The analysis of costs over 20 years and another upgrade in 20 years to the plant is estimated at $8.3 million. The analysis of a new system over 20 years and future upgrades for the next 20 years is estimated at $7.3 million, according to the report.
At 40 years the town would expect a treatment facility upgrade of about $3 million while the pump station could see capital expenses in the $300,000 range, according to Wright-Pierce.
If selectpersons decide to send sewage to Livermore Falls, the town of Jay would receive credits from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for the elimination of the possibility of discharging into Seven Mile Stream from the plant, Mark Holt, superintendent of the Jay Sewer Department, said Tuesday.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
The North Jay Wastewater Treatment Plant is nearing 20 years old. Jay selectpersons will discuss Monday, June 25, whether to upgrade the facility or have a new system built to send sewage to be treated in Livermore Falls. (Sun Journal file photo)
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