Milford-Hopkinton Sewer Deal Delayed
On Monday, officials from the Town of Hopkinton dropped off a $1.3 million check at the Town of Milford's Water and Sewer Treatment Facility as part of the final payment for a sewer connection between the two towns.
While the move should have been the final piece of the decade-long puzzle to establish a connection between the two communities, officials said this week that wastewater may not begin actually flowing from Hopkinton to Milford for a few more months.
The agreement between the towns allows sewage from the South Street business corridor in Hopkinton to be processed in Milford. Lonza Biologics Corp., the Swiss biotech company, is the main beneficiary of the increased sewage capacity.
But a few weeks ago when officials from each town dug a hole to check the sewer lines, they found that the pipes didn't exactly line up. In fact, there was about a two- to three-foot difference in the depth of the pipes.
Now, even though the original plan was to have the connection done by this fall, the pipe depth issue must be fixed and a metering station to measure the amount of flow from Hopkinton to Milford must be installed, according to Hopkinton engineer Dave Daltorio.
Added Capacity
William Piombino, director of engineering for the Hopkinton production facility of Lonza, said once the increased wastewater capacity is finalized the company will be able to complete its plans to hire about 40 new workers at the site.
"We were expecting the have the capacity available by September, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen," Piombino said Wednesday.
Most of the new workers have been hired, but additional staff will be added when the capacity is increased.
The most recent delays in establishing the connection are "typical" of underground construction, Piombino said, and as long as the connection is made by winter it should not impact the company's ability to meet customer demand.
When the connection is made, Lonza will be footing the bill.
The inter-municipal agreement calls for up to 200,000 cubic square feet of sewage to be processed in Milford at a cost of 1.6 times the highest rate charged in Milford. Piombino said that's equating to about a 60 percent increase in the company's sewer costs, which he said Lonza is prepared to handle.
In total, with the final payment this week, Hopkinton has paid about $3.8 million to Milford just to establish the connection. About $2.5 million of that has come from a Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion grant from the state.
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