COLRAIN — An initial review of the system evaluation study being conducted for the Colrain Sewer District has revealed the system will need at least $261,800 in repairs, with the total cost of the district’s needs expected to grow once a long-term solution for wastewater treatment is identified.

The district has been without a treatment plant since spring 2023 when Barnhardt Manufacturing Co. closed and has been transporting its waste to a treatment facility in Montague since then.

The district has 15 manholes that will need to be repaired or replaced. The manhole covers and the pipes connecting them to the rest of the sewer system have areas that sag and loose seals. Some debris and staining were found during an evaluation of the system last summer.

“Of the 31 pipes, 19 had no defects, which is awesome. That’s two-thirds of your system, basically,” said Wright-Pierce engineer Matthew Corbin during a joint meeting of the Colrain Sewer District board of directors and the Selectboard on Tuesday.

Westfield-based environmental engineering firm Wright-Pierce was hired in July to review the system and make recommendations regarding the short-term and long-term needs of the district. The study is being funded by a $500,000 Massachusetts Rural Development Fund grant, which is also funding the transportation of waste to Montague.

Jessica Atwood, planning director with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, explained that Wright-Pierce was hired to complete three tasks: conduct an evaluation of the existing system as required by the state Department of Environmental Protection, determine a long-term solution for the district’s wastewater treatment needs, and help the district seek out and apply for grants that could pay for the implementation of a long-term solution.

Corbin said Wright-Pierce crews did pipe and manhole inspections that included pumping the system with a nontoxic smoke to make any leaks visible and sending cameras through the system.

Wright-Pierce recommended the repairs be done in two phases, based on the severity of damage and how likely the manholes and pipes were to fail. Corbin noted that even the top-priority manholes and pipes are not in imminent danger of collapse but should be addressed within the next few years.

Top-priority recommendations include replacing cracked bricks in the manhole frames and the chimney seals for four manholes. Priority 1 recommendations are estimated to cost $22,500. Wright-Pierce recommends that engineering start work this year and construction begin next year or the year after.

Priority 2 recommendations include 11 manholes that need repairs to the manhole chimneys, frames and cover seals. One pipe segment will need to be replaced as it has a loose joint and dips throughout, and another pipe joint will need to be repaired. These repairs are estimated to cost $239,300. As these recommendations are less urgent, Corbin said engineering and construction for this phase should take place in four or five years.

While the Wright-Pierce report said repairs would cost a total of $261,800, members of the Colrain Sewer District board of directors said the total project will cost even more and the draft report did not include several manholes and sections of the system.

“There’s many things that were missed and probably some inaccurate things,” said board of directors Chair Patrick Geary.

Norman Ward, who also serves on the board of directors, said the report did not include the sampling station on Main Road and a manhole that was not reviewed with a camera. Additionally, he said some of the manhole locations on the map did not accurately portray their locations.

The board of directors would like to see the final draft include the conditions of the missed sections. They also asked that Wright-Pierce explore other recommendations that will make the system more efficient and less likely to break down and need intensive repairs in another 20 years.

Wright-Pierce will update the final system evaluation report and recommendations with the comments received and submit it to MassDEP for approval. Meanwhile, engineers will continue work toward identifying a long-term solution for wastewater treatment and possible funding sources. They plan to present potential solutions in May.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.