Orleans Board Votes to Approve Sewer, Water Budgets and Awards Phase Two Substantial Completion

ORLEANS — March 18, 2026 — Orleans clears phase two sewer construction milestone and imposes drought water restrictions starting May 1. The Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners voted 7-0 Wednesday to award substantial completion to CC Construction Inc. for the Meetinghouse Pond Collection System and Pumping Station project as of March 18, 2026, and voted 7-0 to notify the Board of Health that the service area is ready for connections — with about 50 applications pending. The board also approved the fiscal year 2027 sewer budget, which carries a 10.2 percent overall increase to roughly $1.9 million in total revenue requirements, with a reduced stabilization fund draw of $998,000, down from $2.4 million the prior year, a decline Director of Public Works Rich Waldo attributed to improved revenue modeling and the correction of a double-counting error. The fiscal year 2027 water budget was approved on a 7-0 vote and is slightly below the prior year due to accounting reclassifications. Acting on a March 17 MassDEP letter declaring Cape Cod a level two significant drought, the board voted unanimously to impose restrictions banning all non-essential outdoor watering from May 1 through December 31, with Water Superintendent Sue Brown noting groundwater levels are "the lowest we have ever been in history starting off going into spring."