$10 million down the drain
Thanks to a $10 million grant from the Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion (MORE) Jobs program, the town of Marlborough can begin planning for upgrades to its outdated and at-capacity water treatment facility.
John Riordan, executive director of Marlborough 2010, a state-chartered public-private economic development collaborative for Marlborough, said the upgrades will allow for future development in both Marlborough and Northborough, which share the Westerly waste water treatment facility.
"Without upgrading the facility, all major economic development in Marlborough would come to a grinding halt," Riordan said. "Accepting a heavy user that would tie into the system would put the town over the top" of its wastewater treatment capacity.
Riordan said the town is just about at capacity, and Northborough would be at capacity by 2015.
The MORE Jobs grant program was founded by the state last year to authorize grant funding to support public infrastructure associated with economic development projects that support substantial job growth in the commonwealth.
The towns are currently debating three proposals for upgrades to the wastewater facility, ranging in price from $30 million to more than $46 million.
The goals of the renovation are twofold, Rirodan said. The first is to reduce phosphorous discharge into the Assabet River. Secondly, the towns want to increase capacity at the plant to allow for more industrial development.
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