TIVERTON — The Tiverton Wastewater District has broken ground on construction for the town's sewer expansion project.

"We are delighted to be at this stage after almost six years of effort," the district said in the announcement

This long-awaited sewer expansion project will bring sewer services to 181 Tiverton homes between the Riverside and Robert Gray neighborhoods and should be completed with final paving in spring of 2021, though most, if not all, connections will be completed this calendar year. 

The project involves installation of a sanitary sewer collection system with approximately 8,350 linear feet of 8-inch and 10-inch diameter gravity sewer, 6,850 linear feet of low-pressure sewer, associated sewer service laterals, and service connections to individual properties.

One of the unique attributes of this expansion project has been including the work for private sewer connections. Typically sewer projects include the public mains and pipes only but this project includes private home connections as well. The district spent approximately 18 months securing individual user agreements for each of the private connections. 

The district has committed to a not-to-exceed final assessment of $18,000 for full connection.

"This has been a challenge from the beginning, and our success is the result of diligent work restructuring the project and holding a second round of bidding in the fall of 2019," the district said.

The project was awarded to D'Ambra Construction in early 2020 with US Department of Agriculture (USDA) details finalized this spring. D'Ambra mobilized quickly after the preconstruction meeting held on June 4th and officially began work on Monday, June 22, 2020.

The district will continue to provide updates on this project on its website and  Facebook page.