Wayland Wastewater Commission Sets 65,000-Gallon Flow Threshold, Collects First Privilege Fee

WAYLAND -- January 11, 2023, Wayland's Wastewater Management District Commission overhauled key capacity benchmarks in its draft privilege fee policy at the January 11 meeting, setting a "current acceptable level of flow" of 65,000 gallons per day and retaining 52,000 gallons per day as a circuit-breaker trigger for plant re-evaluation. Chair Michael Gitten led the commission in retiring the phrase "maximum acceptable level of flow," citing uncertainty about new membrane performance and ambiguity in Tighe and Bond's 2021 engineering report, which identifies 70,000 gallons per day as the capacity threshold at a safety factor above 1.0. The body also debated whether the 1997 Enabling Act requires Board of Health sign-off for new connections and agreed to seek a legal opinion from Tighe and Bond. The commission's first-ever privilege fee, $12,100 from 13 Pelham Island Road at $22 per gallon for 550 additional gallons of design flow, was reported by Wastewater Administrator Sarah Pawluczonek, with a second, larger payment expected within months. Gitten noted that the Planning Board's Route 20 corridor consultant, Beta Group, has flagged wastewater capacity as a potential limiting factor for redevelopment, but the commission's policy document is expected to be finalized before the Beta Group report is released in spring 2023.