BRUNSWICK

1. What is the mission of the Brunswick Sewer District?

“To protect the health and environment of the communities we serve through wastewater collection and treatment in an environmentally responsible, effective and reliable manner.” This is our mission statement.

But in my words — our mission, for the benefit of the ratepayers and the communities at-large, is to staff, operate and maintain the municipal wastewater system to the highest professional standards we can and at a cost that is commensurate and reasonable for the value and service we provide in meeting the mission of the district.

2. Leonard, as general manager of the Brunswick Sewer District, what is the most enjoyable part of your job?

Seeing not only my visions come to life, but those of staff and the board of trustees.

When I leave in a few short years, I want the staff and board to remain invested in the district. I want an organization as they also envision it. That only occurs when staff feel they are valued and listened to. That their ideas and suggestions are taken into account and, more importantly, implemented. I do not accomplish the mission of the district — they do.

I pride myself on being the “toolbox” that provides them with the staff, equipment, tools, education and all other resources required for them to accomplish their tasks. And I cannot do that without the support and backing of our board of trustees. They have allowed me to accomplish the goals I have for me and the staff. To create a district we all want to be part of, and proud of.

My job is not to manage the district for today. That is the staff ’s job. My job is to manage the district for the future. To prepare the district — meaning staff, board and the ratepayers — for the future. To begin to lay the framework for things we know are coming. To guide the board of trustees in making the hard decisions that we all know are needed to maintain the district’s high level of preparedness and professionalism and meet the future head-on.

That is what I enjoy about my job.

3. What challenges are ahead for the sewer district?

You have used the plural — challenges. Good, because we have a few, in no particular order.

• Rates: We are just starting a $22 million upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant. This is expected within the next 20 years. (Remember what I just noted about future planning.)

The main focus of Phase 1 is to update the current treatment technology and equipment and the workspace and computer systems for the staff. In our current five-year wastewater discharge permit from the state we are required to report the level of phosphorus and nitrogen in the water we discharge to the Androscoggin River. At some point, MDEP will amend our permit to require us to reduce the level of phosphorus and nitrogen we discharge. This will require the construction of additional treatment systems, part of a Phase 2 upgrade. That is a future cost that is not included in our current rate structure.

To cover the annual debt payment for the current $22 million upgrade, we are adjusting our rates annually, 2015 through 2018 or 2019, to raise the additional $1,250,000 required. Though we are in the mid-range for sewer rates in southern Maine, we will over time continue to increase to meet the needs of the district and the community.

• Value of Clean Water: As an industry we need to do a better job of educating the public on the value of providing wastewater treatment. And how the life of a community is dependent on clean drinking water and clean wastewater and the systems built to move and treat all that water.

People have no issue with paying anywhere from $0.85 per gallon to possibly $1.50 per liter for bottled water, but take issue when the water district raises its rates from $0.004 (four/one hundreds of a cent) per gallon to $0.005 per gallon. The sewer district rates are slightly higher; our new increase effective April 1 means we operate the district on a wastewater disposal fee of $0.008 (eight/one hundredths of a cent) per gallon, or in other words it cost a dollar for every 800 gallons sent to the sewer system. The average family uses 5,000 gallons per month.

Nationally, rates have been kept way too low, which just covered everyday operating expenses. Infrastructure replacements were avoided. Now the country is facing hundreds of millions of dollars to replace aging water and sewer lines postponed over the decades. Thankfully through good management (remember making the hard decisions) we are not in that dire a position, though our current five-year pipe replacement plan will cost $1.5 million, and our 20-year plan around $6 million to $8 million.

• Sump Pump and Roof Drain discharges to the sanitary sewer system: We need to remove sump pump and roof drain flows out of the municipal sewer system. These discharges are illegal, not only by our regulations, but also by state and federal law.

In our fourth quarter newsletter in 2015 we did a short article called “Coming Down the Pike,” introducing a long-term program to work with the town and the homeowners to develop viable and permanent outlets for sump pump and roof drain flows. This will in all likelihood be a 15- to 20-year effort possibly requiring the use of district funds to help the town expand existing storm drain systems or construct new lines where there currently are none. We plan to begin initial discussions with the town and to hold several public informational meetings this year. This is the final major vision I want to see get a good start before I retire.

• Future Treatment Requirements: As alluded to earlier, the next treatment process that we may be required to implement will be nutrient removal. At present, the focus is on phosphorus and nitrogen reduction. Beyond that, I see us having to deal with what is now referred to as compounds of emerging concerns. These include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides and flame retardants. In addition, there is concern with the impact of microbeads on the aquatic environment.

The best solution is to keep these compounds out of the waste stream to begin with. But with these compounds that are ingested as part of your medical treatment, there is no choice but to discharge to the sewer system. Much research is currently going on to develop removal or reduction processes for wastewater treatment facilities. But make no mistake, they will be expensive to construct and to operate.

4. I know you are the sewer guru, but what do you think about when you read or hear stories about the recent drinking water problems in Flint, Michigan? Could that happen here?

What occurs to me when I read the testimony from the multiple hearings is that the people responsible for the daily operations of the local water authority, the ones with the most knowledge, did not take a stand for doing what they knew had to be done. The people who know how to run the system placed too much faith in the state and federal governments to tell them how to manage the system. When told they did not have to provide anti-corrosion chemical treatment, they listened.

In the Wednesday, March 30 edition of The Times Record, the Flint, Michigan, story noted a lab technician and the water authority’s consultant were both surprised by the state’s comment that anti-corrosion measures were not required. They both knew better, but did not say anything, and even worse, did not do what they knew to be the right thing.

Could it happen here? I do not believe so. I know Alan Frasier, general manager for the water district. And I know me. Neither one of us, nor our collective board of trustees, would stand by and place the safety of our customers and the communities in second place in order to save a few dollars. In terms of whether there are still some lead piping in the system or in individual water service lines, you will have to check with Alan.

5. Tell us a little about yourself … where you grew up, schooling, hobbies, etc.

I was born in Augusta, but did not return there until the eighth grade. I graduated from Cony High School, then attended the University of Maine at Augusta. After two years full-time for my associate’s degree, and following my marriage, I attended five years of night classes taking UMO courses to obtain my bachelor of science in business administration degree. All the while working for the Augusta Sanitary District.

I started as a laborer and worked my way up to crew supervisor on the collections system. (In our industry, all the pipes, manholes and pump stations used to collect and transport the wastewater to the treatment plant is known as the collection system.)

In 1987, I applied for the assistant superintendent position here at the Brunswick Sewer District. I began my duties on Aug. 17, 1987. In May of 2010, the board of trustees appointed me as general manager.

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