The town of Wiscasset has been awarded a Coastal Communities Grant from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Maine Coastal Program. This grant will be used to support funding the Wiscasset Waste Water Treatment Plant Coastal Hazard Resilience Project.

In 2013 the Maine Geological Survey (MGS) and the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission (LCRPC) completed a Coastal Hazards-Sea Level Rise impact study of Lincoln County’s 450 miles of tidal shoreline.

Additionally, the LCRPC is currently working on an analysis of the impacts of a Category 1 hurricane on the county’s coastal areas. The results of these studies have indicated that the Wiscasset Waste Water Treatment Plant, which is located on Cow Island in the Sheepscot River, is at significant risk from sea level rise and a Category 1 hurricane.

The primary goals of the Wiscasset Waste Water Treatment Plant Coastal Hazard Resilience Project are to, a) identify mitigation strategies to project the Waste Water Treatment Plant and pumping station location located near the town’s Commercial Pier from risk of flooding due to storms and sea level rise, and b) develop a Preliminary Study Report that will include recommendations on adaptation strategies, costs, and an implementation timeline to ultimately protect the Waste Water Treatment Plant from storms and sea level rise in the future.

The project will be overseen by a steering committee consisting of the town’s Waste Water Treatment Plant’s superintendent, town planner, town manager, one member of the board of selectmen, a representative from LCRPC, and two citizens appointed by the board of selectmen.

If you are interested in serving on the project’s steering committee, or if you would like more information, please contact Wiscasset Town Planner Jamel Torres at 207-882-8200, ext. 106, or townplanner@wiscasset.org.