LONDONDERRY, Vt. – The Town of Londonderry Village Wastewater Committee announces its first public forum, “Wastewater Solutions to Preserve Our Town.” The forum will take place at on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. at Neighborhood Connections, Londonderry Marketplace. Online participation will be available on Zoom. The public is encouraged to participate and learn about wastewater solutions being proposed for the north and south villages with $7.9 million funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
Presenter Chris Campany, Director of Windham Regional Commission, will address the need and benefits of wastewater solutions. Presentations by Emily Hackett, Department of Environmental Conservation, and Christina Haskins, Dufresne Engineering, will provide information on the decentralized, advanced wastewater solutions designed to address challenges of rural villages located in flood plains.
According to Campany, “Just like you need a foundation to build a house, community wastewater provides a foundation to make all sorts of community needs possible. Wastewater infrastructure makes things like retention and growth of local businesses, daycare, local housing, senior housing, and community meeting places possible. It makes the sustainability of our villages possible.”
For rural towns like Londonderry, wastewater infrastructure is critical to support the health of homeowners, vitality of business, and adaptive use of buildings and properties. Being able to have local housing that is affordable for the workforce will help address the loss of younger workers for critical services like healthcare and schools, as well as Londonderry’s role as a commercial center.
Expanding wastewater capacity will enable Londonderry to provide housing options for our seniors as they downsize and need the ability to walk to goods and services. Londonderry will be able to work with residents and business owners to move to decentralized, modern systems and avoid high costs of replacing older septic systems that are contaminating streams, rivers, and ultimately reaching our groundwater and water sources.
Londonderry received $7.9 million from the nearly $30 million awarded to Vermont from ARPA funds, appropriated for village water and wastewater initiatives across the state. The grant funding is designed to bridge the affordability gap, protect public health, increase affordable housing, support economic development, and incentivize compact growth in Vermont’s designated villages and neighborhoods.
More information on the “Wastewater Solutions to Preserve Our Town” public forum can be found on the Town of Londonderry website at www.londonderryvt.org.