East Bridgewater Board of Health Conditionally Approves Septic Variance for Mary Lou's Coffee Property

EAST BRIDGEWATER — June 1, 2026 — East Bridgewater Board of Health conditionally approved a septic repair variance for Mary Lou's Coffee as the property heads toward a sale. The board voted unanimously Monday to grant Local Upgrade Variance 26-27 for 117 North Bedford Street, allowing a reduction in the required vertical separation between the leaching field and seasonal high groundwater from five feet to four feet, and authorizing sieve analysis to set the loading rate — but only upon receipt of proof that a certified abutter notice was sent to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which owns the adjacent Route 18 right-of-way. Charlie Woodward of Professional Land Survey Associates, who has worked on the site's septic system since roughly 1999, told the board the system serves a "very, very busy coffee shop" and typically achieves 10 to 13 years of useful life given coffee-shop waste chemistry; the proposed repair includes C-33 sand backfill and a soil-air aeration device intended to extend system life. The board also approved three invoices totaling $2,807.99 — including $1,900 to Brown and Caldwell for Bridge Street Landfill monitoring — and received a staff update from Health Agent Mike Soares that mechanical failures behind recent septic odor complaints at the Sachem Center for Health and Rehabilitation have been resolved, with MassDEP permitting conversations ongoing.