No water, no growth: Towns confront development hurdle

Water from the tap: a necessity and a valued resource, but with its own set of problems. Neighboring communities of Charlotte and Hinesburg separately are addressing water and wastewater's effect on future residential and business growth.

Access to water and plans for its disposal are directly linked to how much growth a town can support, and where that growth can occur. Water policies that were created to restrict growth are now being reconsidered.

In Charlotte, growth in designated village areas is hampered by a small wastewater system.

At least seven subdivisions have been approved and built in Charlotte since 1996, varying from 8 to 27 dwellings, according to Town Administrator Dean Bloch. All are located outside of the villages of West Charlotte and East Charlotte.

The subdivision sites are in harmony with a part of the 2008 town plan — readopted in 2013 — that directs future growth into clustered developments and hamlets; but the plan also encourages building in village areas to reinforce the historic pattern of compact settlements.

The missing element is village growth, notably by businesses that could add to the tax base and that likely could be allowed under land use regulations if the villages had town water or wastewater facilities.

As education taxes have risen, residents have said in recent planning sessionsmore businesses should be encouraged to locate in Charlotte, which would add to the tax base.

Charlotte has a small community wastewater system serving the town offices, library, senior center and the Charlotte fire and rescue building in West Charlotte. Together they use about half of the potential capacity, and the town holds an easement on another site where a system could be constructed.

"I think that the most effective thing the Selectboard can do to facilitate business activity in the West Village is to make the excess capacity of the existing (wastewater) system available for select users," Charlotte resident Michael Russell wrote in an email. "Use the revenue to defray some of the costs of developing the additional capacity that the Town owns."

Russell, an attorney with an office in Charlotte, suggested that the Selectboard also should create a plan to provide future septic capacity in East Charlotte. And he advocates looking ahead in the 10-year horizon to consider extending the Champlain Water District's water main to areas in Charlotte to encourage development of moderately priced and senior housing.

Charlotte is considering changing a stance written in the current town plan that is against a town-wide municipal water supply or extension of existing water lines. The town plan, page 108, states, "The Town will not develop a town-wide municipal water supply or sewage disposal system nor will it permit the extension of water lines from the Champlain Water District within its boundaries at this time."

A draft version of a revised town plan, written by the Planning Commission this year, omitted that sentence and it notes that additional wastewater infrastructure is needed in the West Charlotte village.

Civil engineer David Marshall was a member of a task force exploring potential wastewater services for West Charlotte in 2011.

He said there has been a recent "changing of the guard" in the thought process on how development should be addressed.

"Charlotte has been proud of its agrarian history and wanted to preserve its rural characteristics. One tool to do that was to limit access to water and wastewater facilities," Marshall said.

Marshall said a regional planning goal has filtered into local efforts: focusing development where infrastructure already is in place. "Wastewater has primarily been the limiting factor in Charlotte. We need to be dealing with that in order to enable infill in the village."

Town Planner Jeannine McCrumb said small properties in the village could have either their own well or septic system but not both, because of distance requirements between the two. "For us to accommodate more development in the villages, we are going to need either more community septic or water supply."

McCrumb said the town has applied for a municipal planning grant that would help prioritize wastewater allocations and consider an ordinance for its use.

Hinesburg wells overburdened

Water from the tap is an active topic of conversation in Hinesburg. Growth in the village is closely entwined with future water supply and potential wastewater allocation.

Even with new wells to alleviate overtaxed town wells, Hinesburg would be unable to support recently proposed large building projects.

The town's municipal services include systems for water and wastewater. Voters approved a $1.5 million bond this month to develop two new wells, construct a control building and to connect to the town distribution system. The total included an estimated $600,000 for water treatment, but no specific plans for softening or other treatment were included as essential components of the project.

Selectboard members plan to involve water users in the discussion of a preferred method of treatment and whether one is wanted. they want any at all.

An urgent need for new wells surfaced when a state notice of violation in January and placed a moratorium on more water hookups. It resulted in a ban on building that would require connection to the water system.

The town's current wells have shown a lowered capacity to provide water, down to 120 gallons per minute from 190 when first permitted, one brought online in the late 1970s and one in 1997.

As a result, the wells have to pump 16 or 17 hours per day to meet users' needs of 194 gallons per minute, said Rocky Martin, Hinesburg buildings and facilities director. The state water supply permit is based on pumping 12 hours per day with 12 hours for the wells to recharge.

Water resource engineer Joe Duncan of Aldrich and Elliott estimated that the output from the new wells would be between 200 and 240 gallons per minute.

Even at the higher range, and with 10 percent held in reserve, only a nominal amount of additional water allocation would be available for building in the village, said Town Administrator Trevor Lashua.

During three hearings on the bond, Lashua and other town officials emphasized that the new wells are only for the purpose of meeting current needs and state requirements. They would not be sufficient for any large projects recently proposed.

Selectboard members now must tackle policies for proposed treatment, allocation priorities and fees, amount of reserve capacity to hold, and what to do next with regard to additional sources of water for future growth, Lashua said.