Schools

King Philip, Town Boards to Confer on Wastewater Treatment Issue

High school's wastewater treatment plant has generated odor complaints.

The King Philip school system and Wrentham's boards will confer about the high school's wastewater treatment plant, which has received odor complaints from nearby residents.

District Superintendent Elizabeth Zielinski said Monday evening that the matter is set to be discussed at the May 17 Board of Selectmen meeting.

"We're trying to ensure the Planning Board, Board of Health and Selectmen will all be in one room," she said.

Find out what's happening in Wrenthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

She said the problem stems from a lack of flow through the system.

"Back when the high school was built, they designed a waste-water treatment plant for it," she said, adding that the system had to be changed during the building's 2004 renovation. "Because we had a plant, we were told we had to retrofit it to code. The reality is we do not have enough flow."

Find out what's happening in Wrenthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to Zielinski, the district has been ordered to decommision the plant.

"We have to re-dig our leach fields," she said. "We put that out to bid, and the bids were pretty hefty."

School Committee member Matthew Gray said there had been talk of the town using the system for resident waste. He said such a project was unlikely.

"For Wrentham to consider installing a sewer system in town, there would have to be a significant capital outlay," he said. "The town would have to show it was serious, and then get a stay of the decision [to close the system]."

The matter was also brought up at Tuesday night's Board of Selectmen meeting. The selectmen agreed that a working session would be a proper forum in which to discuss the plant.

Selectman Robert Leclair has been vocal on this topic.

"Decommissioning and scrapping the existing renovated treatment plant is included as part of the new project. Why would anybody even consider dismantling such a costly asset?" Leclair wrote in a letter to residents of Norfolk, Wrentham and Plainville. "It is time to put that project on hold and seriously explore all options to salvage rather than scrap and to minimize taxpayer losses."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Wrentham