I would like to respond to a couple points raised by recent letters to the editor (“Sewer system is cheap and will cause problems,” Aug. 26).
First, in preparing its recommendation to the Board of Selectmen in 2009, the Town Center Sewer Action Group had initially pursued gravity sewer planning. The father of one of our members, a practicing professional engineer running his family’s civil engineering firm, suggested we consider low pressure sewer. Upon further evaluation the group decided it was an appropriate, lower cost alternative. As detailed on pages 16 and 17 of our Project Engineering Report (www.harvard.ma.us/Pages/HarvardMA_Webdocs/sewer/dep.pdf) the projected cost of a gravity collection system is 2.8 times the cost of a low pressure collection system. Tough sell.
Second, the suggestion that we connect to the wastewater treatment facility at Devens misses the question of unintended consequences. The special act enabling our sewer district includes a growth neutrality clause intended to prevent development enabled solely by the availability of sewer. The act takes exception to the right to connect included in Massachusetts General Laws. Harvard is the second town in the commonwealth with such a provision. It is not certain that this provision would withstand legal challenge. Therefore, having a sewer service area that is closely matched to available capacity is a prudent hedge against such a challenge. With a pipe running through Harvard to a plant with virtually unlimited capacity and a successful challenge, a parcel such as the Hazel farm on Ayer Road could easily support several hundred units of family housing with its attendant cost to taxpayers for town services.
Chris Ashley
Woodside Road
