REHOBOTH - The board of selectmen on Monday said the septic system at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School may not need to be replaced after all.

Last Tuesday, voters rejected a proposed Proposition 21/2 tax override for a bond to fund the septic system upgrade at the school by an overwhelming margin of 2-1.

Chairman Christopher Morra said although new bids for the project had come in for as low as $900,000, the expense could be as high as the $1.2 million approved by voters at the spring town meeting.

Morra read a March 2006 letter from the EPA which stated that the septic system didn't meet guidelines for effluent discharge.

However, the permit for the system doesn't expire until 2011, which gives the towns the alternative of making changes to it. The organization Save the Bay out of Rhode Island has been working to prevent local rivers from being polluted. Contamination of local waterways puts additional burdens on the town, Morra said. Upgrading the system had to be a top priority, according to Morra.

"It's something we need to work diligently to correct," he said.

Selectman Ken Foley concurred, saying, "I don't see what the big rush is."

The school committee will be meeting Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. to discuss the issue further.