WILTON — After serving the town for 31 years, the sewer system needs some serious work.

That was the assessment reported to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday by Superintendent Russell Mathers. He, along with Town Manager Rhonda Irish, got the board’s approval to continue working to secure grants for an upgrade of the plant and collection system.

A complete report revealing “where it stands and what needs to be done” is the next step recommended by an official from the Department of Environmental Protection, who visited the plant and met with Irish and Mathers, Irish told the board. They are looking at a potential upgrade and not necessarily a replacement but one with better energy options, she said.

“We want to be as green as possible,” Irish said.

The board approved sending out information on the proposed project to 11 Maine engineering firms for their consideration.

During a recent meeting with Maine Rural Water and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, Selectmen Terry Brann and Russell Black, along with Irish and Mathers, learned of the potential for the town to qualify for grants totaling between 45 and 75 percent of the project cost from federal stimulus funds.

The town may never be in this position again, Mathers said.

“I don’t like to spend money but I recommend proceeding,” Black said. “There could be millions of dollars of work to do without grant money if we don’t do something. We need to jump on it.”

They also learned that of the 70 sewer systems in the state being monitored by DEP, Wilton is at the top of the list for repairs.

Mathers has done a superb job running the department, Black said they were also told at the meeting. Most other departments have already had to retrofit their systems.

The system is also facing a scarcity of parts to keep the current pump system running. Some replacement parts have not been around since the early-1990s, Mathers said Wednesday.

Irish will continue to complete some preliminary work, including a customer survey needed for the grant application.

In his report to selectmen, Mathers wrote that the department has enough funds for the grant application and is hopeful the project will not involve a rate increase but he will keep the selectmen posted as more information is available.

The sewer department has not had a rate increase since 1988, Mathers said Wednesday.

The board also approved the sewer department’s budget for the fiscal year at $279,474.97. The budget total is down from previous years due to paying off Maine Municipal Bond Bank and Farmers Home Administration debts. This was part of a long-standing plan to pay off the original debt on the plant without rate increases, he wrote.

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