Boothbay Harbor Sewer District (BHSD) trustees were updated Jan. 20 on Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (CMBG)’s and Boothbay Region YMCA (BRYMCA)'s sewer line extension plan along Barters Island Road.  

As reported in the Register, the line will also provide waste removal for Boothbay Region YMCA’s (BRYMCA) Workforce Development, Camp Knickerbocker and Afterschool Education program. CMBG and BRYMCA are responsible for raising project funds and will pay for all activities, including design, permitting, staff management and construction. The design will adhere to BHSD standards, and the district will own the line and be responsible for its maintenance upon completion. 

According to a meeting handout, the project will cost $6,734,000. 

CMBG is seeking to cover some of the costs with a $1 million grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission. CMBG applied for the grant under BHSD’s name.  

However, the commission informed CMBG the grant is unlikely, as the commission had funded the district's water project last year, according to operator-in-charge Chris Higgins.  

“They don’t want to spend so much money in the same area,” said Higgins. A meeting was planned for the week of Jan. 26 between CMBG, BHSD, the commission, and other interested parties to discuss the issue. If the application is denied, then funds will have to be sought elsewhere.  

According to the grant application, the project will better protect the environment as CMBG and Camp Knickerbocker will be able to eliminate their onsite wastewater treatment and disposal systems, which are within the watershed of the public water source, Knickerbocker Lake.

The project will have gravity sewer, new wastewater pump stations, and a force main that conveys wastewater from the west end of Barters Island Road to Boothbay Center, where it will discharge to the public sewer. The construction will also allow properties along the new 1.5-mile route to connect to public sewer, per the application.