Swampscott To Use $150K State Grant On Water, Sewer Assessment

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott will use a $150,000 state grant to help improve the town's master plan for its water, sewer and drainage infrastructure.

Town officials said the asset mapping will help Swampscott better understand its current assets, prioritize projects and create a funding plan for capital improvements and maintenance.

"Swampscott's water and sewer systems are in good shape thanks to funding opportunities that have allowed us to continually upgrade our systems over the last 15 years, particularly water mains," Assistant Town Administrator and DPW Director Gino Cresta said. "This asset management plan is going to allow us to really map out our needs and continue to put our resources in the right places as we maintain these systems."

Swampscott's water system includes 46 miles of gravity sewer mains, 57 miles of water mains, 475 hydrants and approximately 4,554 accounts.

"One of our greatest responsibilities as a town is to maintain these integral systems that provide critical services to our residents," Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said. "This asset management plan will allow us to understand the status of 'good repair.' With this report, we can plan accordingly to ensure that we continue to enable the system to run efficiently and reliably even as they continue to age."

The asset management planning will be in October.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)