Consultant outlines $1–1.5M work to bring Charlton’s 750,000‑gallon blue tank online

Consultant Chris of Beta presented modeling and options for bringing a 750,000‑gallon blue water tank back online and told the Charlton Water and Sewer Commission on Jan. 7 that doing so would require substantial infrastructure, permitting and funding.

Chris said the town would need to remove a pressure‑reducing valve (PRV) and add disinfection augmentation — a chloramine generation system and a mixer — to prevent stagnation and maintain residual disinfectant. "That tank coming online is going to improve turnover and pressures in some areas," he said, but noted that it would also raise pressures in others and likely require plumbing changes for affected homes. He estimated the enabling work at roughly $1 million to $1.5 million and said additional costs to retrofit customer plumbing could add materially to the total.

The consultant said the state and the Southbridge water department would need to review permitting and operations, and that SCADA integration and daily checks by Southbridge staff are likely prerequisites. Commissioners asked for the heat map and vendor pricing Chris mentioned; no vote was required at the meeting.

Next steps: Beta will share heat maps and more detailed vendor pricing so the commission can assess timing, permitting and cost allocation.