PROVINCETOWN — A public forum to discuss sewer modernization and expansion plans is scheduled to be held on Sept. 13.

The forum comes one month after a vacuum sewer system emergency shut down much of Commercial and Bradford streets and their connecting side streets for two days.  

The expansion’s goal is to connect town properties currently on cesspools and septic to a gravity sewer system. Department of Public Works Deputy Director Sherry Prada said the expansion will include more than 510 properties with cesspools and substandard septic systems.  

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This will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the town’s history with an estimated cost of $75 million. Officials expect federal, state and regional grant funding will reduce that cost to about $45 million. There will be no additional cost for the modernization funding as the town has already received revenue to cover costs, according to a press release from DPW Director James Vincent. 

Currently, more than 1,000 properties in town are served by the sewer. The remaining properties are either on cesspools or on-site septic systems. Many of the septic systems are deemed substandard or more than 25 years old. 

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The sewer expansion plan is a multi-prong approach that will modernize the existing sewer system, expand the town’s treatment capacity, and make new connections available to all properties by the end of the decade. The system will reduce nitrogen pollution in groundwater and protect wetlands, harbor, and other environmentally sensitive areas, according to Vincent. 

The town plans to apply for more than $30 million in funding from the US Department of Agriculture, the Massachusetts State Revolving Fund, Cape Cod & Islands Water Protection Fund, Chapter 90 funds and the American Rescue Plan Act Infrastructure funds. The funding will help reduce the cost to residential and commercial property owners. 

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The forum is expected to be held in person and virtually on Sept. 13, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Town Hall auditorium.

A postcard-size mailer is going out to all residents to inform them of the event, Prada said. They can also be picked up at DPW offices at the Veterans Memorial Community Center.

Links to information on the sewer expansion plan can be found at www.provincetown-ma.gov/476/SewerDepartment. 

Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter:@DeniseCoffeyCCT. 

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