Decades-old wastewater-processing facilities in Burlington, Vermont, are often overrun by heavy rains, leading to concerns like prolonged blue-green algae blooms in Lake Champlain. Officials broke ground Thursday on an overdue overhaul to the aging system.
The start of upgrades to the city’s three wastewater facilities began with the main facility on Lavalley Lane.
Burlington Department of Public Works Director Chapin Spencer said the upgrades have been decades in the making.
“This is a generational upgrade to our main wastewater plant. The plants and our pump stations and our collection system has unfortunately been underinvested for decades and we are catching up,” Spencer explained. “So we are going to be operating the plant while we do this generational reinvestment. Fortunately, we’ll not have a huge impact in the day-to-day for the public.”
Department of Public Works Water Resources Division Director Megan Moir reported the project costs for the initial phase is estimated at $18.3 million, and the total cost will reach about $124 million.
“This headworks project starts the proactive infrastructure investments that are necessary to insure the health of the lake, the growth of the Burlington housing stock and our resiliency against storm events which increase runoff to our combined sewers.” Moir then noted, “This also kicks off a multi-year project which will be, by my calculation, the single largest investment in wastewater infrastructure that Vermont has ever seen and the first major investment since Main Plant was last upgraded in 1994.”
Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, a Progressive, said the upgrades mark a milestone for the city.
“These generational improvements to our critical wastewater infrastructure will unlock the capacity to help this city reach our goals related to climate resilience and keeping the lake clean,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “And these are essential as well as we make sure we do our part on our ambitious housing targets in the city of Burlington.”
Like many aging wastewater plants in the state, the current facilities have experienced overflows during heavy rain events, in this case into Lake Champlain.
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore said projects like the Burlington wastewater upgrades are essential to both building a more resilient state and protecting vital water resources.
“The Agency of Natural Resources is pleased to be able to support this first phase of the project through a low cost loan from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and a $2.3 million pollution control grant. We look forward to this initial work in that it will address immediate needs of aging infrastructure and future phases we understand will expand treatment capacity at the main facility, introduce additional treatment for combined sewer overflows and make other necessary improvements,” Moore said.
The Lake Champlain Committee is a nonprofit that runs a volunteer cyanobacteria monitoring program. Executive Director Jenny Patterson says the blue-green algae blooms are starting earlier and lasting longer.
“Projects like this that reduce the phosphorus being discharged to the lake make a huge difference. There is still work to be done to comply with the goals that EPA set for Vermont to reduce phosphorus in 2016. That’s a 20-year plan. But we see Burlington is stepping up and we’re very appreciative of that work.”
The wastewater project is partially funded by a 2018 voter approved Clean Water Resiliency Plan bond and a $152 million 2025 Town Meeting Day lake bond.
