Orleans selectmen want to evaluate the cost savings from cluster systems over the big city conventional sewer system recommended by its consultant, sewer engineering firm Wright Pierce.

Friday morning, September 25th, Orleans selectmen convened a special meeting before a hall crowded with town residents for a presentation by Lombardo Associates. Cluster systems can solve the problem of septic nitrogen entering the town's seawaters cheaper, faster and better than the conventional sewer system, according to Pio Lombardo.

Savings of 25% to 50% are typical. For a $150 million conventional system, that could be as much as $75 million. In addition, since the construction strategy avoids many miles of unnecessary deep piping that would in part be in the water table, a conventional project that takes 20 years with a great deal of disruption of roadways, can be done in less than ten years with far fewer roadways being affected. Also, the risk of depleting the town's fresh water supply and spoiling marshes is vastly diminished because wastewater is not pumped into the sea in one centralized location as is the case with a conventional system. Instead, in most cases wastewater is saved for reuse and allowed to percolate back into the ground as it normally would.

The Wright-Pierce study, as had the Chatham study done by its consultant Stearns & Wheler, had dismissed cluster systems as more expensive than a conventional system. Stearns & Wheler, the dominant sewer consultant on Cape Cod, is currently involved in or recommending conventional sewer systems for the large towns of Barnstable, Mashpee and Dennis and even a small town such as Eastham as well as Chatham. The Cape Cod Times reports:

In addition to comparing the cost of clusters vs. sewers, Orleans selectmen also want to host a pilot study of Lombardo's Nitrex wastewater system, Selectman Mark Carron said yesterday.

The selectmen saw Lombardo's permeable barrier, which removes nitrogen in the groundwater before it seeps into the town's coastal waters, at a recent Upper Cape forum.

The Lombardo permeable barrier is based on technoloy pioneered by Canada's University of Waterloo, known throughout North America for its cutting-edge research. The barrier, used in sensitive waterside locations, can show dramatic improvement in water quality years before a conventional sewer system would.

Orleans selectmen were reacting to citizens asking town officials to take a fresh look at cluster systems instead of just plowing ahead with a big city conventional system that is enormously costly and environmentally disruptive.

It looks as if they may get their wish.

Engineer makes case for cluster systems in Orleans
By Susan Milton in the Cape Cod Times
smilton@capecodonline.com
September 26, 2009 2:00 AM
ORLEANS — The hottest topic in Cape wastewater treatment is Pio Lombardo and his cluster systems, judging from the 50 people who crowded into town hall yesterday to listen to the engineer.

Lombardo views cluster systems, small neighborhood plants that collect, treat and dispose of wastewater, as the way for Cape towns to keep nitrogen from septic systems out of their coastal waters.

Nitrogen fuels algae growth in bays and inlets and can deplete oxygen levels, killing off fish and other marine life.

Cluster systems also provide a 25 to 40 percent savings over conventional sewers that pipe wastewater to a large treatment plant, Lombardo said yesterday.

That surprised Orleans officials because the town's study found that the cluster approach was more expensive than sewers. According to the study, the major cost is the need to acquire as many as 11 sites around town for cluster treatment and disposal of wastewater back into the ground.

Townspeople also don't want to take land by eminent domain when the town already owns a central treatment and disposal site, according to wastewater steering committee member Ann Hodgkinson.

Lombardo estimated five to 10 cluster sites would require three acres of land, plus buffer areas. The cluster approach is so much cheaper because solid waste stays in private septic treatment tanks and only liquid waste is piped away to a nearby treatment site, he said.

Cluster systems save money primarily by eliminating large sewer pipes, related roadwork and the treatment of solids.

In addition to comparing the cost of clusters vs. sewers, Orleans selectmen also want to host a pilot study of Lombardo's Nitrex wastewater system, Selectman Mark Carron said yesterday.

The selectmen saw Lombardo's permeable barrier, which removes nitrogen in the groundwater before it seeps into the town's coastal waters, at a recent Upper Cape forum.

Lombardo estimated the cost at $1.2 to $2.8 million for a true demonstration project on an inlet such as Lonnie's Pond. The selectmen hope federal and state grants will offset most of the cost.

More than 1,000 townspeople have petitioned selectmen to look into alternatives to the town's proposed $150 million treatment plant and sewer system.

The barrier doesn't require permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection because it is not a wastewater treatment system, according to David DeLorenzo, deputy director of municipal services for the state Department of Environmental Protection yesterday.