Bath posts notice for Hunt Street pump station floodproofing project

Bath has put its Hunt Street pump station floodproofing plan into the land-use pipeline, and the stakes are bigger than one pump house. The notice tied to HMGP-4764-ME covers about 3,600 linear feet along Washington Street between Hunt Street and Castine Avenue, a stretch the city says needs upgrades to keep sewer service reliable and stormwater problems from spreading.

The project moved through Bath’s Planning Board agenda on April 7 and into the Bath Zoning Board’s May 11 meeting materials at City Hall, 55 Front Street. The notice said the work would be funded through the Maine Emergency Management Agency to the City of Bath and would extend the force main upgrade to the Pleasant Pump Station. Bath’s zoning board handles appeals, variances and special exceptions, so the notice was routed through a formal review process before any construction can advance.

If the plan goes forward, it would upgrade the two existing pumps, the force main, interceptors and sewer main. It would also install waterproof manhole covers and floodproof the pump station building with flood doors and sealed penetrations. That matters in a city where the project sits in a floodplain and where Public Works is responsible for sewer and stormwater systems across the city.

Bath has been preparing for this kind of work for years. The city says the Harward drainage area, the largest part of the sewage system, repeatedly runs into overflow problems during heavy rain, when pumping and treatment capacity get strained. Bath voters approved a $24,653,000 bond in 2023 to finance upgrades to the Water Pollution Control Facility, pump stations, the wastewater collection system and removal of combined sewer overflows, and the city says it operates 13 pumping stations around Bath.

For Washington Street and the neighborhoods tied into the Hunt Street line, approval would move the city closer to a more flood-resistant sewer system and reduce the risk of backups during intense rain. A delay or a challenge would leave the existing pumps, manholes and force main in place longer, while Bath continues its broader climate work, including the 2024 Resilient Bath Climate Action & Resiliency Plan and the Washington Street and Harward Street adaptation effort.