Boothbay Region Clean Drinking Water Initiative is bringing “Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong” to the Harbor Theater on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. 

The movie is free to attend. Concessions will be available for purchase. 

Film Synopsis

Wastewater plants across the country are in need of resuscitation. Half a century after the Clean Water Act radically improved how we handle our sewage, our once modern facilities have aged beyond their intended lifespans. Pipes are cracking and growing populations push plants to their limits. The threats are mounting but the infrastructure hasn’t changed. And, just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, a cancer causing-contaminant (PFAS) enters the scene and threatens to collapse the entire house of cards. In response, one plant that can’t afford to ever shut down must find clever solutions to an ever-growing mountain of problems.

Over the course of one calendar year, we follow the day-to-day operations of one wastewater facility and the funny, close-knit, and inventive individuals working to keep it all running. There’s Dustin, Gollum impersonator and self-professed nerd, who heads the place. With a quick wit he keeps the crew smiling as the plant chugs along. There’s Zac – artist and tattooed gentle giant, Dustin’s best friend and number two in charge who over the course of the year absorbs the mounting pressures faced by the plant. And lastly Jimmy, the youngest member of the team. Under Dustin’s guidance, Jimmy hopes to overcome test anxiety and pass his entry level operators exam. On a daily basis, the team laughs and struggles in a plant that looks like a movie set with labyrinths of pipes and blinking panels. 

“Unless Something Goes Terribly Wrong” is a buddy comedy about poop and the thankless pursuit of making a better world.

Recognizing the need for a regional watershed conservation effort, the Boothbay Region Clean Drinking Water Initiative was formed in 2020. This unique collaboration has engaged the town of Boothbay, the town of Boothbay Harbor, and the town of Southport, as well as some of the region’s most notable non-profit organizations the Boothbay Region Water District, the Boothbay Region Land Trust, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Bigelow Labs, the Boothbay Region YMCA in a new enterprise, whose sole goal is safeguarding the community’s water supply. The Boothbay Region Clean Drinking Water Initiative invites you to join them for a free film showing.