If this project is fully realized, it will provide enough wastewater capacity for all foreseeable residential and business development in and around the Town Center including the potential for a market, shops, eatery, and moderately priced housing options. Without additional wastewater capacity, the Town Center and surrounding area will not see any significant increase in growth or economic development. Some of the more obvious benefits are:
- Opportunity for increased economic activity in the Town Center;
- Ability to construct new modestly priced housing in the Town Center;
- Sufficient capacity for all community facilities including the Town Offices, Library, Town-Owned “Spiller” property, Brick Meeting House and United Church of Westford, all of which are either served by inadequate/substandard wastewater systems or holding tanks;
- Increased development around the Town Common means increased vibrancy and activity in and around the Town Center area, which helps create and define the hub of Town activity;
- Increased property values due to the increased social and commercial activity;
- Ability for existing dwellings to replace failed systems;
- Ability to increase the use of an existing dwellings and/or allow for multiple uses on a lot and/or create additional lots in the Town Center area.
- Reduce detrimental impact to Browns River from multiple small systems, especially those that are failing.
Consider also, that most small towns in Vermont that have vibrant and active town centers, are those that also have some form of a community wastewater system. Those small towns without such systems do not have much business activity at their core and many are trying to figure out how to acquire more capacity. As they say: “Wastewater is king in Vermont.”