MARION — As the project to replace the water mains on Mill Street in Marion continues, the Board of Selectmen discussed another water main project on Delano Road and Point Road at a Water and Sewer Commission meeting on Sept. 24. 

The proposed project is a 7,400 linear foot water main, 12” in diameter. Permitting for the project is complete, and engineering company Tata and Howard are working on plans for the water main. 

Marion Engineering Manager Meghan Davis said the project would replace the current water main on the roads, abandoning the current water main in place. 

The Board of Selectmen agreed to look into how the project may affect water rates in Marion, which have already seen a spike due to $10 million worth of debt from other water and sewer projects the town has already begun. 

Vice-Chair John Waterman said the town should look into using a similar strategy from when the Mill Street project was bid out to contractors, when the town waited until the most competitive bidding time of the year to get the best price for the project. 

“We need to understand the trade-offs,” Waterman said of acting early on the project, or waiting for the best price. 

The project will prove to be an important one for the board, as it grapples with its current water rates dilemma, which Waterman said put the town “between a rock and a hard place.” 

As for the current water main project, Davis said completion of the main should be reached by Nov. 1, with final paving finishing in the spring. 

As of Davis’ update at the meeting, two of the four sections of water main are in, with around 2,700 feet of water main left to be placed. 

Hydrants along the main are in, and will become operational as each section of the water main is complete.