ORLEANS — Just weeks after voters OK'd spending $32.9 million to install sewers for homes near Meetinghouse Pond, the town is already pushing forward with phases 3 and 4 of the project that will cost an estimated $80 million.

The nine “phases” consultant Tom Parece of AECOM presented to the select board on May 11 include neighborhoods that can be linked to work already done to create the next step in the project that is projected to cover just over 60% of Orleans.

In October, town meeting agreed to spend $250,000 for a study that would form a basis for future phases of the sewer planning, called the Comprehensive Waste Management Plan, Town Administrator John Kelly said at the May 11 Select Board's meeting.

AECOM, the multi-national firm hired to oversee the sewer project, will examine potential sewering for homes near Pilgrim and Crystal lakes, Uncle Harvey's Pond and installing permeable reactive barriers, or PRBs. These subsurface barriers or filters are designed to intercept nitrogen from neighborhoods with a high density of septic systems, in this case Tonset Road and Rock Harbor.

Orleans has retained engineer Mike Giggey of Webb Pierce to be its “sewer czar,” Town Administrator John Kelly explained Kelly said.

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“He will be the interface between AECOM and the town to assist in updating the (sewer plans),” Kellly said. “We have deadlines DEP (the state Department of Environmental Protection) put on us to make sure we meet certain criteria. Mike has been given all the studies done up to now to help us put together a priority list of actions that need to be done.”

At Kelly's suggestion, the select board on a 5-0 vote established an advisory committee to work with Giggey on future planning.

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Parece said May 9 Orleans filed its final Intended Use Plan with the state to qualify for a State Revolving Fund loan for sewers in the Meetinghouse Pond neighborhood. Orleans is tenth out of 67 projects in line for the state loan. So far Orleans has committed $107 million for the first two phases (downtown and Meetinghouse Pond) and building the town's sewage treatment plant. Over $92 million of that is eligible for state loans.  

“Keep in mind that number ($107 million) will continue to change as we get the final numbers known for downtown once it’s completed,” Parece said. “The bigger unknown is the bidding process.”

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Bidding upended the downtown and treatment plant phase. The construction was supposed to cost $47.2 million but the lowest bids totaled $59.4 million.

Phases one and two will paid for with $23 million from the Cape Cod and the Islands Water Protection Fund, $16.8 million in betterment assessments paid by homeowners, $17.7 million from property taxes and $49.5 million from the Orleans Wastewater Stabilization Fund, which is generated by hotel motel and  short-term rental taxes.

The work on phase two will go out to bid in January and ideally, the bids will match the $32.9 million estimate. Construction will start next spring and continue into 2026.  

Construction could overlap with the beginning work on phase three.

Parece suggested the town look at several areas for expansion and provided estimated costs in 2022 dollars.

He looked at two phases along Eldredge Parkway. The first, which would include the fire station and elementary school, would cover 48 properties at a cost of $7 million. A second Eldredge phase, consisting of 234 properties including all the industrial businesses off Finlay Road, would cost  $21.8 million.

Tonset Road was also in two parts; Tonset 1 (95 homes at $7.5 million) and Tonset 2 (252 properties for $20.5 million).

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He also suggested Orleans tackle neighborhoods near the two freshwater lakes; Pilgrim (127 properties for $10,4 million) and Crystal  (36 properties for 3.2 million) along with six homes along Uncle Harvey’s Pond (which recently received alum treatment) for $620,000 and finally the neighborhood (121 properties) around Rock Harbor on Main Street for $13.7 million.

 Parece said the cost estimates for all that proposed additional work were tricky. He used the downtown costs inflated to 2022 dollars and added an additional 10%.

“I heard of a project that was bid on Cape. It had only one bidder estimated at $3 million and it came in at $4.7 million so, unfortunately, that continues to be a theme — we did add a 30% contingency and other concerns for engineering, administration,” Parece explained.

He thinks doing Uncle Harvey’s Pond first made sense as the cost is low and it can be included as part of the Meetinghouse Pond project. The board agreed to support including it in the bid specifications going out in January.

With the feasibility study for a new fire station underway Parece said that section, the first half of the Eldredge Parkway should be next in line. If funding for that could be approved at the fall town meeting, the loan application could be done the following year and the construction could be bid in the winter of 2024 with work commencing that spring.

That would keep the project in line with the new station project and eliminate the need for a temporary septic system. The elementary school would also be hooked in and board member Kevin Galligan suggested the Regional Middle could also be included instead of waiting for the Eldredge Parkway part two.

“I’m all for that advisory committee wrestling with these things,” board member Andrea Reed said.

The treatment plant has a capacity of 350,000 gallons a day and Parece said that after phase two is complete it would be 78,000 gallons under capacity. Somewhere in the process if Orleans goes through with what is contemplated, the town will need to add capacity.

Orleans is still pursuing permeable reactive barriers to avoid sewers in some areas near the water. The town has applied for state revolving fund money for the PRBs.

“It would be the first non-traditional project for nitrogen removal to be funded. That’s pretty exciting stuff,” Parece said. “The state has already reached out to the town and asked if you really want to fund PRBs (this year) or ask for an extension.”

Since Orleans didn’t request funding at the May town meeting they voted on June 1, to ask for the extension.

The select board also voted on May 11, to prioritize the planning for the first phase of the Eldredge Parkway pipeline and to make changes in the Meetinghouse Pond design, prior to bidding this winter, to accommodate additional flow from new phases and change one portion from low pressure to gravity flow to eliminate a pumping station.