Burlington Seeking MWRA Approval By End Of Year

BURLINGTON, MA — Burlington is seeking to complete Massachusetts Water Resources Authority permitting by the end of the year, the town said Friday.

Construction of the first part of the town's physical connection to the water system will likely be completed by the end of the year, as well, the town said.

The town received approval from the secretary of energy and environmental affairs in April, and hearings took place with the Water Resources Commission for Saturday and Monday. The Commission's staff will make a recommendation on approval at the Commission's next meeting, in August.

The town will submit its applications to the Authority itself only after it receives approval from the Commission and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office, but it plans to complete that process by the end of 2020.

The town's engineering division has also began obtaining local permits, in Lexington and Burlington, to extend the water main on Adams Street for emergency connection to the Authority through Lexington's water system. The town hopes to install pipes by the end of the year, which would make 1 million gallons per day available.

The main connection, to Arlington, would provide 3.5 million gallons per day and would allow the town to take the Vine Brook facility offline. Town meeting members approved the design of this phase in May, but construction is not expected to be completed until the end of 2022.

Due to the town's limited water system capacity, residents are currently restricted to just two days of outdoor watering per week.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.