SALISBURY – Discussions on precedence tasks, price estimates and allowing highlighted an replace on Wicomico County’s water and sewer grasp plan.
On Tuesday, George, Miles & Buhr (GMB) consultant Peter Bozick offered the Wicomico County Council with a six-month replace on the Wicomico County Water and Sewer Master Plan.
Since their final assembly with county officers, GMB representatives mentioned they’ve began taking steps to safe funding and discharge permits by working with state businesses such because the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Department of Planning and the Maryland Department of Health.
“They all have diff rules and regulations, and we are trying to navigate through that to come up with a feasible system,” Bozick instructed county leaders this week.
A grasp plan for countywide water and sewer started in earnest within the spring of 2019, practically 4 years after the county performed a feasibility research figuring out methods to offer sewer service to houses with failing septic techniques on the east aspect of Wicomico.
While the county doesn’t personal its personal water and sewer amenities, officers acknowledged the grasp plan would supply a roadmap of kinds for financing, developing and sustaining a countywide system.
The 285-page doc, offered to council members final fall, focuses totally on sewer infrastructure in unincorporated rural communities inside the county’s progress areas.
While it’s endorsed that roughly 6,000 houses be served by expanded municipal techniques, the grasp plan requires 12 potential water and/or sewer utility service districts – Mardela Springs, Whitehaven, Parsonsburg, Coulbourn Mill Road space, Nanticoke-Bivalve-Tyaskin, Nanticoke Road space, Riverside Road Extended space, Quantico, Allen, Powellville, East Delmar and East Wicomico – with 10 can be constructed by Wicomico County and two to be constructed by builders.
“This whole thing is a collaborative, joint effort,” Bozick mentioned.
He famous the grasp plan additionally identifies the primary 5 service districts – Parsonsburg, Coulbourn Mill, Mardela Springs, Nanticoke-Bivalve-Tyaskin and Whitehaven – as precedence areas, as they include a big variety of county householders experiencing hardships with failing onsite sewage techniques.
“We have five priority areas we are proceeding with, and those are the areas where we are applying for permits and funding,” he mentioned.
Bozick instructed council members this week his agency had submitted purposes for state funding in January and was ready for officers to launch their precedence listing.
“Even if we rank high and they want to fund the project, we have to come back and make amendments to the Wicomico County water and sewer comprehensive plan and have it signed off by the Maryland Department of Planning …,” he defined. “You cannot get money without being a priority funding area.”
Building infrastructure for the 5 precedence areas, Bozick mentioned, would require a number of legislative actions, together with amendments to the water and sewer complete plan and precedence funding space maps, in addition to the creation of a county water division.
Bozick mentioned it might additionally require grant funding to scale back infrastructure prices
Bozick mentioned water and sewer tasks totaled $26 million within the Parsonsburg space, $25 million in Mardela Springs, $6 million in Whitehaven and $65 million within the Nanticoke-Bivalve-Tyaskin space.
“Not only do they have small lot sizes and sporadic density, they also have climate change issues – sea level rise and flooding – which would help secure more funding,” he mentioned. “It may also take more time for that project to come together, so we would need to start now in that regard.”
Bozick famous that the county had allotted funds in its fiscal yr 2023 funds to proceed with its water and sewer plan implementation. He mentioned Wicomico’s subsequent step could be to ship out a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a particular marketing consultant.
“We want to put out an RFP and get special consultants on board to get these permits …,” he mentioned. “Once we find out where we stand with permits and funding, we have to decide which of these five projects we put more emphasis on.”
After additional dialogue, the council agreed to carry one other assembly with GMB representatives at a date to be decided.
