FARMINGTON — Joseph Hartigan, wastewater superintendent shared information at the March 11 selectmen meeting about a potential flood mitigation plan for the wastewater treatment facility.

“I’ve got an idea to eliminate the water getting into the plant,” Hartigan said. “Everybody’s seen the bank in back of the town office here. We’ve got the same bank down at the plant. What I want to do is build an earthen berm, a horseshoe from one point on the bank to another.”

It’s going to cost money, Hartigan said. “It’s not just the dirt that’s going to be placed there that is going to cost money,” he noted. “That’s about half the price, $3.39 [million]. The other half is, we’ve got probably 30 or more manholes that are in the flood zone that have to be sealed. That cost we can keep down. All we have to do is buy the manholes.”

His department can put the manhole covers in, maybe do some of the earthwork, Hartigan noted. “We’d like to keep the plant running while it’s flooding,” he said. “That would take pumps to pump the finished water over the berm. ”

Hartigan has talked with DEP, don’t seem to have issues. “We wouldn’t need to buy any pumps,” he said. “We’ve got six pumps that can handle that job.”

A wet well inside the plant would have to be raised, Hartigan stated. Everything flows through it and it’s pumped up to the head works, he noted. He said the crew can do it, just needs to buy materials.

An engineer has scoped the plan, projected cost is $6.6 million, will be less with work done in house, Hartigan noted. It has been sent to USDA where most of the money would come from, they are aware this project is being considered, he stated. “The longer we wait, the more money it’s going to cost,” he said.

There are naysayers, Hartigan noted, thinks it should seriously be considered. “In the past these floods have caused damage and cost equipment,” he said. “These floods are just getting worse. This last one, there was heavy scouring around the buildings.”

The plant has six tanks, four that Hartigan is worried about. Those tanks can float, he said. The lab and control room are other concerns, he noted.

“Up till now the response has been walk away, there’s nothing you can do,” Hartigan said. “Here’s something we can do.”

When asked about a time frame, Hartigan said the work could be done in increments, an engineer could help.

“It seems like 100-year floods are happening on a monthly basis,” Selectman Dennis O’Neal said.

Chair Joshua Bell said a study would probably be needed due to water from the Sandy River being displaced.

Hartigan thought it would be minimal, it would be addressed. “The DEP is going to want to know that,” he stressed.

Selectman Byron Staples spoke of ditching materials being used to save money.

Selectman Richard Morton asked about naysayers, was told it was the project’s cost.

“The price tag to not do it could be more than the price tag to do it,” Hartigan stated.

Morton asked if similar projects were being done elsewhere, referred to things being done on the coast to deal with erosion.

Selectman Matthew Smith suggested checking with the Army Corps of Engineers.

“We did work with an engineer to have this idea drawn out,” Town Manager Erica LaCroix said. “It’s not a completely new idea. Another consideration with these floods is that we could have a discharge, which could end up costing a lot of money. The DEP and EPA have gotten fairly serious about those. They do fine us.”

Every time it floods the plant discharges, Hartigan stressed.

“Obviously more to come,” Bell concluded.

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