Rising sea levels would likely give Wiscasset less trouble than some other Lincoln County towns, according to a new study.

Two factors would help limit the impact for the county seat: It has less waterfront development than some of the other towns; and, for the most part, the land slopes upward from the Sheepscot River fairly quickly, County Planner Robert Faunce said.

“Overall, the impact is not extensive,” Faunce told Wiscassest selectmen June 18.

Even so, Maine's prettiest village should be planning to protect interests like its wastewater treatment plant, he said.

Water levels are always a concern with the plants, and Wiscasset's, on the Sheepscot, is no exception, Faunce said.

The study he shared with selectmen included some scenarios in which water reaches some or even all buildings at the plant.

“Serious planning needs to be done to protect (the plant),” Faunce said.

In an interview June 20, Faunce said it's important to keep in mind that the study's scenarios depended on continued sea level rises, increases in the intensity of storms, or both.

“It's theoretically possible in the next hundred years that things will stabilize,” he said. “If we're lucky, that's great. But you can't take chances.”

Options the town could consider to protect the plant include a flood wall, or possibly relocation if the plant needs replacement at some point, Faunce said.

The town could likely draw ideas from other sewage treatment plants at similar risk around the U.S., he added.

Bill Rines, superintendent of the Wiscasset plant, was doubtful about relocation, due to the big cost and the fact pieces of the plant are more likely going to be replaced incrementally.

The flood wall might be something to consider, but it would need to go around the island the plant sits on, making it, too, an expensive prospect, he said June 20.

Rines plans to get measurements at the site to compare with data from the study. A rising sea level near the plant has always been a concern in the back of his mind, he said.

When there's an astronomical high tide, the river rises to about the edge of the road to the plant, Rines said.

The study's information will be useful whenever improvements are being designed at the plant or other potentially impacted areas, Town Planner Misty Parker said in an interview June 20.

It's good to have the study as a resource, far in advance of potential issues, Parker said. “It would be something we would investigate … as planning goes forward,” she said.

The Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission and the Maine Geological Survey carried out the study jointly, with county funds and grant money from the Maine Coastal Program.

The commission will soon be posting an interactive version of study results on its website, www.lcrpc.org, Faunce said.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.