Stormwater management at Boothbay Harbor Waterfront Preservation (BBHWP)’s Eastside Park remains an  issue, with Boothbay Harbor Sewer District (BHSD) joining the discussion at a May 5 trustee meeting.  

There was confusion during an April 8 planning board meeting following BBHWP’s attorney Anthony Muri’s assertion that the size of the park’s splashpad was a non-issue as it had a drain that would funnel stormwater into the public sewer. Questions were then raised if stormwater would enter the collection system, and no clear conclusion was reached.  

BHSD Superintendent Sean Boyd clarified at the trustee meeting that BHSD cannot accept any stormwater, marine water, snowmelt, or run-off due to permitting and operational structures. However, the district would be open to the installation of a shut-off valve at the splashpad to prevent those things from entering.  

After asking BBHWP for a standard operating procedure for a valve, the district has not received any further information.  

“I'm trying to make sure that (BBHWP) understand that we're not going to move forward until (they) provide us that information, because just referring to it as a valve doesn't answer our questions,” said Boyd. Operator-in-charge Chris Higgins added that BHHWP would need formal approval from the district for a valve.  

In other business, Boyd reported that BHSD recently passed an inspection from Maine Department of Environmental Protection, with the inspector only requiring more paperwork. “(The inspector) thought it was a really well-run plant,” he said.

Boyd also said operations have continued smoothly despite the construction work occurring on site for BHSD’s coastal resiliency project. The district has moved a waterline in its parking lot so that it will no longer be under the new electrical building. Higgins estimates that the majority of phase 1 work will be done by July 2027.  

And Higgins said that due to unexpected increases, the cost for sludge removal from Jan. 1 to April 30 is about $6,200 more than budgeted for those months, totaling about $14,700. The sludge removal budget for the entire 2026 year is $74,000.  

Incumbent Russell Hoffman of Boothbay Harbor was reelected to his three-year position with 434 votes.