Bridge and water system repairs and replacements with long range capital planning

The Public Works department held its third and last workshop to discuss long range capital planning on Tuesday, Sept. 30. This meeting focused on drinking water facilities, wastewater collection and treatment systems and the Padanaram Bridge. 

“Historically we looked at five year planning and then it increased to 10 year planning and then with the addition of long term planning … we can look at future projects and estimate those projects out to long term,” said Tim Barber, the director of public works. 

The town of Dartmouth buys about 30% of its drinking water from New Bedford. The current systems for drinking water in Dartmouth are aging and face issues such as a growing population size, tightening quality requirements and climate change.

The town is estimating about $16 million to upgrade the water treatment facilities. One tank is peeling and repainting it will cost $1.5 million or $3 million if it’s replaced. Replacing the water lines will cost $200 to $500 per foot. Maintaining the five storage tanks will cost about $1.4 to $3 million per tank. The town is also going to replace the Route 6 water main for $1.3 million. 

The town allocated $2.8 million in ARPA funds to fix the 579 Old Westport Road Treatment Facility in 2024. This project is estimated to be complete in 2026.

The current wastewater management system is past its life expectancy, and there are concerns that the current systems won’t be able to handle population and housing growth. 

The estimated cost to rehabilitate or replace the current wastewater management system is somewhere between $50 million and $150 million. Funding relies on sewer rates for the initial phases of evaluation, grant opportunities and state revolving funds. 

The necessary repairs include a $6 million aeration system upgrade, $225,000 in repairs to the grit and screen facility, $2.5 million for the compost facility and sewer station repairs or replacements for the four stations at $1.5 million per station. 

Part of the need for repairs is due to population growth and housing developments, specifically with 40B housing, which allows developers to bypass some zoning regulations if at least 20% to 25% of new housing falls under affordable housing. This is because the state could potentially impose the building of developments regardless of how the town votes due to affordable housing requirements. 

The Department of Public Works is almost to the 25% design phase in its plans to improve the Padanaram Bridge, which was built in 1983.

The bridge is costly to maintain and faces challenges with breakdowns, electrical and mechanical failures, heat expansion and emergency repairs according to Barber. 

The repairs to the bridge were estimated at $20 million in 2020, but the town is unsure how much the repairs will cost now. There is $2 million available for the town to use toward bridge repairs from a 2022 Bond bill sponsored by former Governor Charlie Baker, which was passed to help environmental and transportation infrastructure. The town will reevaluate funding when the plan is 75% done. 

The long term planning committee will reconvene now that the public works workshops are finished and create a presentation for the Select Board on the long term capital planning projects sometime in early winter. 

“The town is really just starting this process, but a lot of these expenditures and capital needs are coming up in the near future so this is just the beginning of that and we look forward to your continued interest,” said Town Administrator Cody Haddad.