Wastewater project cost increases
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Region - Unforeseen improvements that will need to be made during the approved upgrades to the Westborough Wastewater Treatment Facility will increase the cost of the project by $9.5 million.

Westborough Town Meeting will be asked to approve the additional funds, which will bring the final cost of the project to $37.8 million.

In a presentation to the Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen Feb. 26, Shrewsbury Town Manager Daniel Morgado said that the additional work is needed now to avoid the need for additional upgrades at the facility in the next five to 10 years.

The Westborough Wastewater Treatment Facility serves Shrewsbury, Westborough and Hopkinton, and the three towns will share the cost of the upgrades based on their use of the facility.

Shrewsbury makes up 57 percent of the total wastewater that flows through the facility every day, as compared to Westborough and Hopkinton, which make up 37 percent and 5 percent of total use respectively.

The Shrewsbury selectmen expressed frustration and irritation with the nearly 30 percent project cost increase.

"I think these are issues they should have picked up on during the initial scope of the work," Selectman Maurice DePalo said. "It's my opinion that someone really dropped the ball here."

Although the additional cost is less than ideal, Morgado said, the time to deal with the issues at the treatment facility is now.

"At some point these are issues that are going to have to be dealt with, so you're better off to do something in 2008 than five, six, seven years from now in a totally diff erent bidding environment when all costs will do is escalate," he said.

Westborough Town Meeting will vote on the additional funding requested in May. If voters fail to approve it, the project will go on as initially approved.