The Bascom sewer project is ahead of schedule and on budget, County Engineer Mark Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said he hopes the project, which has been in the works for about 10 years, will be completed by the day the new Hopewell-Loudon school building opens.
"We need to make sure the sewer system is operational, or as close to operational as possible, when they open the doors for the first day of the new school," Zimmerman said. "On the first day of school, the toilets are going to be flushing, and it's got to go somewhere."
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Installation continued on the Bascom sewer system during the winter.
The county is working with the administration of Meadowbrook Park to make sure the construction has minimal effects on the park, he said.
"Not only for the aesthetics of the park, but more importantly because Meadowbrook Hall is booked every weekend for weddings, and nobody wants their wedding dress to be covered in mud and dirt and grime that is associated with sewage construction," he said.
The system, which costs about $4 million, could have been built for less - about $100,000 - but Zimmerman said that would have added more than $500,000 in long-term costs.
"Long-term, you're better off spending a little bit more money in the beginning to make sure you've got the most cost-effective thing you can build," he said.
Zimmerman expects all the line work to be completed in the next couple of weeks, depending on the weather.
The treatment plant is expected to be built by the end of the April, and Zimmerman said the county will conduct a mock operation and other tests in May, before residents hook up to the system.
Zimmerman is going to send residents a list of approved contractors who can connect homes to the new sanitary system.
"We'll probably give people six months to a year, closer to a year, to actually make the taps," he said. "There are hundreds of taps to be made, and we certainly can't have hundreds of people in there at the same time making these taps, so it's going to take some time. People are going to need time to get their finances around."
It could cost residents $1,800-$5,000, depending on how far away the tap is from their home and what kind of obstacles the contractor may have, he said.
