WILTON — The public hearing regarding increases in water rates for the town of Wilton has been postponed to Nov. 15 due to a missed deadline.
Though no increase was voted on, details on the proposed increases were elaborated on by Water and Wastewater Superintendent Heinz Grossman. The proposed staggered increase to Wilton water rates is required to qualify for loans and grants needed to proceed with the water transmission line replacement project. According to Grossman, the current pipeline is reaching the end of its life expectancy of roughly 75 years.
The projected transmission line is expected to have a lifespan of roughly 90 to 100 years, have a 2-inch increase in diameter (from 10-inch pipelines to 12-inch pipelines) and run from the Water Treatment Plant down North Pond Road to Colby Miller Road to Weld Road and connect back at a station across from the town office, which according to Jim Lord of Dirigo Engineering will localize the line to in town and help foster community growth.
Multiple plans and scenarios were discussed at the meeting regarding how to get the funding needed to replace the water transmission line, with an offer from the USDA being the front runner. The offer includes a $7.4 million loan and a $2.2 million grant. To qualify for this loan and other funding sources, Wilton water rates would need to increase 55% based on the 2022 rates. To combat this large increase, a staggered increase of 10% for 2023 and an additional 9.86% in 2024 was proposed.
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and Northern Borders Regional Commission grants were presented. According to Grossman, DWSRF Principal Forgiveness would need to wait until September 2023 to apply and there’s no guarantee of making the priority list.
All information from this meeting will be shared again and elaborated upon on Nov. 15, with a vote on how to proceed with the increases.
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