Scituate Town Meeting approved building a new $50 million water treatment plant on 15 acres of town-owned land on Route 3A known as Stearns Meadow.
Residents already had voted in April to exceed borrowing limits to finance the project, but the Sept. 19 vote was needed to approve the location. The measure passed on a voice vote at the meeting attended by 573 people, according to the town clerk’s office.
The new plant is scheduled to open by fall 2026.
Scituate’s current water treatment plant was built in 1968 and, according to officials, doesn’t meet water safety rules and is not large enough to handle current or projected demand. The town also has been plagued for years by problems with brown water, an issue the new plant would address, officials said.
Advertisement
Engineering studies showed that the old plant could not be rehabilitated and a new one was needed.
The new plant will be about 31,500 square feet and accommodate the Water Department staff, with the treatment process area taking up a little more than half the space.
The town has estimated the cost to taxpayers of the average home assessed at $695,958 to be $255 a year for 30 years.
Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.