Conservation Commission Issues Septic Approval, Continues Disputed Drainage Case

WEST BRIDGEWATER — October 7, 2025 — West Bridgewater Conservation Commission approves a commercial septic upgrade and presses for drainage repairs on a contested Manley Street project. At the October 7 meeting, the commission unanimously issued a Negative Three Determination under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act for a proposed septic system upgrade at 118 South Main Street, where engineer Dave Klinick of College Civil Engineering Group confirmed all work falls outside the 50-foot wetland buffer and the new pump station will be sited 81 feet from the wetland line. The commission placed a single condition on the approval: erosion controls must be in place before work starts. The more contentious item was the continued hearing for 321-323 Manley Street, where a commission site visit that afternoon found post-storm scouring, a loam delivery not yet spread, and a drainage swale measuring as little as three inches in depth against a required 12 inches. An attorney representing abutter John Centronelli of 4 Crescent Street submitted storm photographs and asked that the swale be surveyed before any certificate of completion is issued, and that order conditions be sharpened to prevent the reprocessed-asphalt driveway from being later sealed into an impermeable surface. Commission members confirmed ongoing conditions already require the surface to remain permeable, invited the attorney to submit proposed enforcement language to town counsel, and continued the hearing to October 27.