LWSC clamps down on tie-ins

LYNN – With a worried eye cast on future Lynnway residential development, Water and Sewer commissioners are clamping down on out-of-town tie-ins to Lynn?s sewerage system.Commissioners David Ellis and William Trahant, Sr. this week said the commission?s ability to treat sewage from future waterfront development projects is reduced every time a non-Lynn home or business gets permission to tie into the local sewerage system.?It?s going to take its toll: At some point, we should keep them from tying in,” Trahant said.The commission took a first step in that direction Monday by voting 5-0 to deny a request to tie- in a Lookout Terrace home in Lynnfield into the Lynn system. Commission Director Daniel O?Neill recommended approving the request and said the homeowner was prepared to pay a $9,268 tie-in fee based on commission calculations for tie ins.But Ellis called the approval suggestion short sighted and said commissioners need to look start planning for future demands placed on the sewer system.Water and Sewer?s underground sewer line network runs to the Commercial Street treatment complex. Some, but not all, sewer lines only bring waste into the treatment plant while other, older lines carry a combination of rainwater or melted and sewage – a combination that, O?Neill said – strains the treatment system during heavy rains.?When we have torrential downpours, that?s when we have a problem,” O?Neill said.Non Lynn requests to tie businesses or homes into Lynn?s sewerage system are made to the commission “a couple of times a year,” O?Neill said. He said the commission has routinely approved tie-ins in the past, including a large Route 1 residential project that involved a $900,000 tie-in payment to the commission and sewerage system upgrades in the vicinity of Goodwin Circle.He said the complex currently treats about 23 million gallonsof waste water a day and has a 25.8 million gallon a day treatment capacity.Capano and Ellis warned future Lynnway development could reduce that capacity. No developments are under construction on the city?s waterfront, but city officials envision several waterfront development sites for residential and other types of projects, including the former Beacon Chevrolet site near North Shore Community College, the South Harbor site near the General Edwards Bridge, and the former River Works gear plant site.?At some point it?s going to happen on the Lynnway,” said Capano.O?Neill said Water and Sewer?s treatment capacity is significant enough to handle treatment demands posed by large development and pointed out that Nahant send 400,000 gallons of sewage a day to Water and Sewer for treatment.Ellis said Water and Sewer faces challenges in treating sewage as long as part of the sewer pipe network includes pipes carrying storm water and waste. Heavy rainfalls bring flooding, especially in Ward 6 where Ellis served as councilor prior to Capano.?We have problems with flooding in streets and basements,” Ellis said.