The developer behind an approved project in Windsor Junction says the 14 new townhouses planned for the area will not pollute Second Lake or contaminate local residents' drinking water.

Much of the land around Second Lake will soon become a provincial wilderness park, but there are some private properties along one part of the lake including the Windgate Farm.

The development, to be built on the farm site by Powder Mill Developments, involves a communal septic system that will send treated effluent into the lake.

Local residents with the Second Lake Regional Park Association are appealing the decision to approve the development to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

Chris Macaulay, who owns Powder Mill Developments, said once the 14 townhouses are constructed, the owners will belong to an association and will pay fees to cover the cost of operating and maintaining the communal sewage treatment system.

Macaulay said while he hasn't settled on a final design, the treatment system will involve individual holding tanks and a communal septic field that may use a sand filtration method.

It will not impact the water quality of Second Lake, he said.

"First of all, it has to be approved by the Department of Environment but the system will be an engineered system that will be monitored," Macaulay told CBC News.

Macaulay said he will make a decision on the design of the treatment system after the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board rules on the local residents' appeal.

The board will hear the appeal at the end of March.