The Bourne Conservation Commission has approved a proposal to connect the western portion of Bourne Scenic Park to the town’s existing sewer system.
This decision marks a significant milestone in a project that has been developing for years. The recreation authority’s proposal was initially presented at sewer commissioners meeting in November 2022, where it was denied due to insufficient available allocations.
Progress was made when the sewer commissioners approved a preliminary allocation of 8,910 gallons per day to service 90 campsites at the park on December 19, 2022.
The proposed work for Bourne Scenic Park includes installing campsite service connections, gravity sewer main, sewer manholes, sewer force main, and wastewater lift station. The project site is located within a flood-prone area and falls within 100 feet of a wetland resource area, necessitating careful planning and execution.
During the conservation commission meeting, Benjamin Wollman, a representative from Horsley Witten, provided insights on the project’s environmental safeguards. He emphasized that impacts from the proposed project would be temporary.
“Most of what’s happening is trenching an existing pavement for the roadways that are there, putting in the sewer infrastructure, filling those ditches back in, and repaving. Everything will be restored in kind to what it was previously; everything will be protected in terms of erosion and sedimentation with the silt sock,” Wollman explained, as reported by Cape News.
Wollman further explained that the proposed project represents a responsible way to manage waste and asserted that it does not harm the “resource areas.”