Wayland Board of Health taps UNH's J. Matthew Davis for Coptic Church septic review

WAYLAND — November 17, 2025 — Wayland Board of Health picks UNH's J. Matthew Davis for Coptic Church septic peer review. The board voted 5-0 Monday to recommend Davis, who bid $175 an hour for up to five hours — roughly $875 — against competing proposals of $4,174 from GeoHydroCycle's Stephen Smith, $4,800 from Hodge Water Resources, and $6,000 plus $750 per hearing from Tighe & Bond. The 169 Rice Road mixed-use system exceeds 5,000 gallons per day, triggering a local hydrogeological review of engineer Sean P. Malone's mounding analysis. Member Jonathan Storer pressed on whether Wayland's 1.5-times-Title-5 flow rule is hampering ADU conversions, warning homeowners "can't justify" a $300,000 ADU that forces a deed restriction. Director Julia Junghanns also disclosed the board has been named in a lawsuit over a suspended Eight Hill Street septic permit.