NORWICH — After several years of searching for a solution, the community is initiating a project to address a failing septic system at Marion Cross School that periodically causes wastewater to spill out onto the Norwich green. 

Last Thursday, the Norwich School Board signed a loan agreement with Community Bank for the amount of $768,414 to fund major upgrades to the elementary school’s wastewater management system.

A wastewater pretreatment system will be installed on the elementary school property that will remove contaminants from wastewater before it proceeds to the leach field located at the town green. 

“Everyone on the board is excited about being able to complete this project after all these years,” School Board Chairman Garrett Palm said, noting that the technology also will serve as “an educational tool for our whole school district.”

The pretreatment system, made by Massachusetts-based company Aquapoint, employs a trickle filtration approach in which the wastewater is evenly distributed over plastic media and infiltrated by microorganisms that consume biological and chemical pollutants. Residual solids that were initially part of the wastewater mixture are caught and separated by filtration. 

The treatment process removes as much as 95% of the nitrates and other harmful contaminants from the effluent that goes to the leach field, according to Joe Pinto, an Aquapoint sales manager for the New England region. 

“It’s a pretty simple system and it’s really going to help the school,” Pinto said in an interview. 

Town voters approved the project funding at Town Meeting in March by vote of 1,098 to 160. 

The existing septic system, which was installed in 1988, drains into four different beds on the west end of the Norwich green. Shortly after repairs were made to the system in 1998, untreated sewage began to occasionally appear on the green during the winter months, when the ground surrounding the leach field would freeze and block the drainage paths.

Between 2018 and 2021 school officials explored several solutions without success. One proposal was to relocate the leach field to another nearby property but a study found the ground and soil to be unsuitable for a septic system.

School officials also sought to connect the school to sewer lines in neighboring towns. But those options failed either due to a lack of interest from the other communities or because building the infrastructure was too expensive. 

The Norwich School Board learned about pretreatment options from a group of Hanover High School students in the spring of 2021, according to Palm, the board’s chairman. The students, who were participating in an intensive science course, were given the assignment of studying wastewater treatment technologies and presenting their findings to the board. 

Another option proposed by the students was “an algae wheel,” a system that cultivates algae to produce oxygen that enables aerial bacteria to break down organic contaminants in the wastewater.

Palm said the board considered algae wheel technology for a pretreatment system but determined it would be twice as expensive to install — approximately $1.8 million — and would take up more space on the school grounds.  

The project design is currently awaiting a state permit, according to Palm: “Now that the loans have been finalized and signed, we are off and running, but the ultimate timing (of project completion) will be determined by the various construction phases and processes.” 

School officials have offered the town the option to connect Tracy Hall to the new filtration system. Currently, the town hall’s wastewater is stored in a holding tank that is cleaned out about once a year. 

The Selectboard, which briefly discussed the proposal at a meeting on July 12, said it would like to learn more about the connection cost and the overall project logistics. 

“At this time there is no definitive need, or declared interest, in connecting Tracy Hall to the school’s project, just an interest in learning more details,” interim Town Manager Brennan Duffy said in an email.

Marion Cross Principal Shawn Gonyaw indicated in October 2022 that resolving the septic system issue could allow the school to operate its own cafeteria, which it presently lacks. Meals are prepared at Hanover High School and delivered to Marion Cross for distribution to students. 

Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.