Sen. Bailey joins Congresswoman Pingree, EPA Administrator Regan on tour of Saco’s wastewater treatment facility

SACO — On Monday, Sen. Donna Bailey, D-Saco, met with EPA Administrator Michael Regan while he toured Saco’s Water Resource Recovery Facility and highlighted how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help address the impacts of climate change in Maine. Saco’s facility is one of six in Maine that are vulnerable to rising ocean levels. The facility will need $54 million to remain above water. U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Maine Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, also attended the event.

“The people of Saco know that climate change is a serious threat to our community because we are already experiencing more flooding and rising sea levels each year,” said Sen. Bailey. “In particular, we have to start taking action now to ensure that we can manage flooding from the Saco River. That means making a big investment in the Saco Water Resource Recovery Facility.”

So far, the EPA’s Office of Community Revitalization and Office of Water combined resources to provide technical assistance support to the Saco Water Resource Recovery Facility in the form of a pilot test of their new Augmented Alternatives Analysis tool. The Saco facility sits close to sea level and just two feet away from the Saco River, which has huge tidal swings. The facility treats 4 million gallons of wastewater from 12,000 residents and 375 businesses every day.

Also, last November, Saco residents voted to allow the city to borrow up to $50 million in bonds to fund the Water Resource Recovery Project. The new elevated plant will be the city’s largest public works project ever. Speaking at the event, Administration Regan said, “We are making the single largest investment in U.S. water infrastructure in history. We have a once in a generation opportunity to build a better America [and] invest in systems that can handle the threats of the climate process while safeguarding our local waters.”

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