WINDSOR – The new Bertie High School continues to move closer to reality.

Thursday, the Windsor Board of Commissioners gave approval to accepting sewer from the new school after a presentation from Hite Architects Executive Jimmy Hite.

“I’m here to follow up on our written request to tie in the new high school to your sewer service,” Hite said.

He said the population of the school when it opens will be just less than 600 students, but the ultimate capacity would be 900 students if the facility was built completely out.

Hite said the request was 15 gallons of sewer per day per student for the entire 900 student population or 13,500 gallons per day.

Commissioner David Overton asked if the new school would use the current pump station and Hite said it would. Town Administrator Allen Castelloe added that it would be the current pump station that serves Bertie Middle School and not the one currently serving Bertie High School.

Overton asked if the architects were aware of the impact fee that had to be paid to the town up front. Hite said he was not. Overton said the prison had to pay the fee and the school would also fall under that category.

Castelloe said while the system could accommodate the request, it was nearly maxed out of its 750,000 gallons per day capacity.

Commissioner Cathy Wilson asked if there was a way to increase the capacity of the system and Castelloe said it had a capacity of 1.25 million gallons per day. However, the town is only permitted to release 750,000 gallons of treated wastewater into the Cashie River.

Overton said the current request was within the town’s ability to handle and that it could move forward in his opinion. He made a motion to approve the request with Mayor Pro-Tem Hoyt Cooper offering a second. It passed without objection.