Appropriations bill includes Windham wastewater treatment funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Maine Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, has announced that she secured $2 million for a wastewater treatment facility in North Windham in the Fiscal Year 2023 Interior appropriations bill.

Maine Senator Susan Collins helped secure
$2 million in funding in the new U.S. 
appropriations bill for North Windham's new
wastewater treatment facility that will use a
Membrane Bio Reactor like this one shown.
COURTESY PHOTO  

The omnibus funding package passed the Senate by a vote of 68-29. It was later passed by a House vote of 225-201 before heading to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

“Windham is the gateway to Maine’s beautiful lakes region and is a major retail center for the surrounding communities,” said Senator Collins. “This advanced wastewater treatment facility will support continued job and residential growth in Windham while also protecting the environmental health of Sebago Lake, Little Sebago, and other local bodies of water.”

The funding will support the installation of a sewer and wastewater treatment system. The facility will utilize a Membrane Bio Reactor, which will clean the water to a much higher standard than the existing subsurface waste disposal systems and eliminate excessive nitrogen and phosphorous from being placed in the ground each year.

Windham does not currently have a wastewater treatment system in the North Windham Business District. This infrastructure is needed to accommodate economic development, business and job creation, and residential growth in the region while reducing the carbon footprint.

The Omnibus bill keeps the government running through September 2023 and also includes $443,000 in funding for a Windham substance misuse facility. The renovation project will provide residential treatment for adolescent girls in Maine, which will be the only program of its kind in the state.

“Last year, there were more than 9,500 drug overdoses in our state, and 627 Mainers died as a result – a tragic record. A variety of organizations across Maine are stepping up to meet community needs and battle the opioid crisis through an all-of-the-above approach,” said Senator Collins. “I have strongly advocated for prevention, treatment, and recovery programs to expand vital assistance to Mainers who are struggling with addiction. This funding will help alleviate bed shortages and waitlists for care for adolescent girls that can be a significant roadblock to receiving treatment.”

The risks facing our youth from the misuse of substances is often overlooked as an aspect of the current opioid crisis, said Greg Bowers, Day One’s CEO.

“The fact of the matter is that the facility being stood up with the use of these Congressional funds will be both lifesaving and life altering for hundreds of teenaged girls for years to come,” Bowers said.

Day One’s residential programs have provided substance use treatment for adolescents and their families for nearly 50 years. The agency currently operates an 8-bed facility for boys in New Gloucester; however, a remote facility for girls was forced to close due to challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, Maine lacks a similar program for girls and there is a waitlist for this service.

The funding will allow Day One to renovate an existing facility in Windham to serve adolescent girls statewide. When completed, the renovated facility will have the capacity to treat up to six girls at a time with an average length of stay of three months.

The Day One program provides trauma-informed treatment in the form of individual and group therapy, family therapy, life skills development, education, and aftercare for youth in every part of the state.

Counselors use evidence-based treatments such as motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, Seven Challenges, and Prime for Life to help clients gain the skills needed to succeed in their recovery journey outside of the therapeutic setting. <