Lebanon
The City Council commissioned the capacity, management, operations and maintenance study about five years ago, as part of an effort to quantify the effects of ongoing sewer upgrades.
Lebanon is partway through a roughly $69 million construction project to separate sewer and stormwater in about 15 miles of the city’s sewer system. With such a large undertaking in the works, officials want to know if — and where — future improvements are needed, Mayor Sue Prentiss said on Monday.
The City Council will hear results of the study during its meeting tonight. Engineers from the Massachusetts-based firm Weston & Sampson will be on-hand to present their findings.
The creation of an urban district, which could guide development in town, also might be part of the discussion, Prentiss said.
During the study, engineers analyzed Lebanon’s entire sewer system, modeling and recording how water moves to either the wastewater treatment plant in West Lebanon or to Hanover, which accepts waste from northern portions of the city.
They found that out of 16 metered areas, nine never exceeded the city’s capacity limits, according to a presentation of the results on the city’s website.
Another six areas of sewer only exceeded their city-mandated limits for short periods of time, the study found, while a portion of pipe near downtown was over capacity for about half the time period under which the study was undertaken.
While those results might seem like a call to at least partially fix the line, engineers are expected to recommend further study of the whole sewer system, according to the presentation.
By calculating the impact of ongoing construction and approved developments within the city, engineers are hoping to have more detailed data in the fall.
From there, they could recommend a rehab project for certain segments of sewer, the presentation states.
Among upgrades and construction, city officials also might consider limiting future services, such as water and sewer lines, to some areas of Lebanon.
Councilors likely will discuss the possible creation of an “urban service district,” which would delineate where the city is willing to expand infrastructure for developers.
“It’s a planning tool and it’s about where governments are going to provide public services,” Prentiss said of the potential district. “Are we planning long range to see these types of services connected, and how do we plan for that?”
Lebanon City Planner David Brooks said talk of creating such a district goes back to at least 2012, when it was included in the city’s Master Plan.
Through zoning lines, the City Council could essentially tell people where use of municipal sewer and water would facilitate growth, he said. Remaining areas of the city would then be more suitable for rural uses, Brooks said.
Lebanon already limits whether projects can hook up to city sewer, after a study last year found there’s only enough capacity for about 40 single-family homes in the eastern part of the city.
In January, the City Council set a temporary order limiting hookups to the sewer east of Exit 19 — where a major sewer interceptor that moves a high volume of sewage to the West Lebanon treatment plant begins — until a long-term solution could be determined.
“In part, that was to give us some time to do what we’re already in the process of doing,” Prentiss said of the study.
The city likely would have to discuss the future of the sewer system regardless of the temporary order and last year’s findings.
However, officials should be able to make a clearer decision now that the new study is complete, Prentiss said.
The Lebanon City Council is scheduled to discuss the study’s findings at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.