EAST MILLINOCKET – Residents and business owners will have an opportunity to learn more about the upcoming $1 million sewer line replacement project during a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21, at the municipal building.

Administrative Assistant Mary Morris said the purpose of the hearing is to provide residents with more details about the project, allow residents to ask questions and obtain answers about it.

Morris said selectmen, the town’s wastewater superintendent and the project engineer, Steve Hallowell of the Topsham firm of Wright-Pierce, will be on hand to answer questions.

Last June, voters authorized selectmen to borrow up to $1 million to make improvements to a portion of the town’s sewer and water system. The project, tentatively scheduled to begin this fall, will be financed with a 20-year bond.

Officials said the town needs to upgrade some of its sewer lines to prevent raw sewage from backing up into some residents’ cellars and to keep storm water from infiltrating the sewer system. The Department of Environmental Protection has put the town on notice about eliminating storm water from its sewer system.

Engineering studies identified several sources of storm water infiltration and bottlenecks in the sewer system caused by smaller lines feeding into large ones in the areas of Pine, Main and Cone streets. Improvements call for replacing the current 6-inch sewer line with new 8-inch lines.

Officials also said some of the water lines needed to be replaced with larger ones to improve water flows for fire protection at the town’s industrial park. Improvements call for replacing the section of 6-inch line with a new 12-inch line.

Work along Main Street would be done in phases. One side would be completed and then work would be done on the other side to alleviate traffic congestion problems.