Betty Anne Rogers was working on her master’s degree in microbiology when she met Joel Burke at the Warwick Sewer Authority. Burke, superintendent of the authority, had something she could use, and Rogers knew he had lots of it.

Truth is, she didn’t need much – just a few ounces of wastewater to complete an analysis for her study. Burke had no problem with that, only on the condition that she take 1,000 gallons.

Rogers laughs remembering the incident. As it turned out, that classroom assignment was a first step toward a 25-year career with the sewer authority that reached new heights last month. Mayor Frank Picozzi named her director of the agency that oversees the operation of the wastewater treatment plant and an infrastructure serving 23,068 residential and commercial properties.

“I feel there is so much I can do. I want to move forward in a positive fashion,” she said in an interview Thursday.

Indeed, there is a lot on Rogers’ plate. Portions of the infrastructure, as evidenced by the collapse of a major line on Sandy Lane three years ago, are seriously deteriorated from hydrogen sulfide gas resulting from inadequate flow levels and the use of improper pipes during installation. Also at the top of her list is the Bayside project, promised for more than 20 years, that would bring sewers to more than 900 homeowners in Riverview, Highland Park, Longmeadow and Bayside. The authority signed a contract with D’Ambra Construction to move ahead with the $18 million project in August, but then former Mayor Joseph Solomon pushed it into the breakdown lane when he refused to sign the contract.

Neither of the issues offer easy solutions, but Rogers says Mayor Frank Picozzi is receptive to ideas and is not going to ignore the issues. Rogers is not bashful in displaying her faith in the mayor as wanting to do what is best for the residents. She also makes a point of articulating confidence in her staff, which she said is “like family.”

Rogers aims to broaden the authority’s outreach.

As industrial pretreatment coordinator and laboratory director, a job she held since joining the authority in 1996, Rogers started a scholarship program for high school seniors with an interest in pursuing science. The program is funded with fines paid for infractions of the industrial pretreatment program. She is looking to introduce students with an interest in technology, computer science, math and engineering to the range of career opportunities in wastewater treatment though internships and outreach programs.

Following the collapse of the Sandy Lane pipe, the authority undertook an assessment of its older infrastructure, concluding that the Oakland Beach and Airport interceptor lines are highly vulnerable to collapse and are a priority. The authority gained City Council approval for a $7 million revenue bond to undertake remediation that will come in the form of slip-lining the existing pipes, thereby avoiding the far more costly process of replacing them. The work will involve bypassing sections of the interceptors so as not to interrupt service as the work is done, Rogers explains.

Failing infrastructure

“That’s a huge part of the infrastructure that is failing,” she said. Specifications for the work will go out for bid in March and April, with the work being done over the summer.

To get an inside view of the system, Rogers said the authority is acquiring a new video inspection truck that will work in tandem with a flushing truck to get a picture of pipes and potential issues.

“If you don’t look inside, you don’t know,” she said. The video will go into an archive enabling comparative assessments.

“Bayside is not forgotten,” she said of a project that has been pushed off for years and has long been a political hot potato.

The cost of the project, the confirmation of Native American artifacts and burials in the path of the sewers, and state law requiring the replacement of cesspools with an approved septic system or a sewer connection have all played into delays. Petitions for and against the sewers have been mounted and Mayor Picozzi is certain to be pressured from both sides.

Rogers isn’t backing away from the heat. She said there needs to be agreement with the Narragansett Indians and she is anxious to address the issue of cost. That remains an unknown until the project is completed and the cost is divided between the number of potential service connections. However, those opposed to the project estimate assessments to run $30,000 (that could be paid over 30 years) and forcing people from their homes.

The countering argument made by Ward 5 Councilman Ed Ladouceur, who has made the project a personal crusade, is that postponing Bayside will only result in higher costs and is cheaper than the septic system alternative to comply with the law. Ladouceur is also looking at ways to offset the homeowner costs by having the city absorb the cost of road repaving.

Rogers aims to explore grants that could offset some costs, but she is of the mind that the sooner Bayside gets sewers, the less costly they will be in the long run.

Rogers said Monday that D’Ambra has extended its contract bid and that at the Department of Environmental Management’s request a meeting planned in the next couple of weeks to review the status of the project.

Because of the scope of the project; the need to use directional drills to avoid impacting archeological features; politics; involvement of the Narragansett Indians and DEM, Rogers called Bayside “one of the most controversial” projects undertaken by the WSA. But, she added, “We need to forge ahead.”

Prior to working in Warwick, Rogers was employed by Science Applications International Corporation from 1989 to 1996 as a microbiologist and toxicologist. She worked in the company’s environmental technology group in Narragansett.

Rogers has a B.A. degree in biology/chemistry from Rhode Island College and a M.S. in microbiology from the University of Rhode Island. She is a member of the adjunct facility at CCRI, where she is a professor of microbiology.

Rogers credits the board with putting the authority on strong financial footing.

“We’re self-sustaining right now,” she said.

She hasn’t forgotten her mentors along the way.

Burke, who kidded her about water samples as a student and worked along with her when she was hired by the authority, weighed in when she was an applicant for the leadership job.

He wrote a letter highly recommending her.