SHARON WATER MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (WMAC) MEETING MINUTES FOR 10/9/03
Prepared by Paul Lauenstein
Present at meeting:
WMAC members Rory McGregor, Jack Sulik, Roger Thibault, Lealdon Langley, Michael Birschbach, Richard Mandell and Paul Lauenstein; Selectmen Joe Roach, David Grasfield and Norman Katz; Conservation Agent Greg Meister; Lake Management Committee Chairman Cliff Towner; Finance Committee member Charles Goodman; and citizens Alice Cheyer and Richard Kramer
1) REVIEW AND APPROVE MINUTES FROM SEPT. 11 MEETING
Sept. 11 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved with the following alterations:
• Roger Thibault withdrew his resignation from the WMAC.
• Well #6 has too much iron and manganese, not nitrate and manganese.
• The nitrate problem of wells #2, #3 and #4 is within the 10 ppm EPA MCL.
• Len Sekuler proposed an education program for automatic sprinkler owners as a conservation initiative.
• Greg Meister said tougher lawn watering restrictions are the only effective means of conserving water.
2) NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION
Paul Lauenstein requested information such as a town piping schematic showing pipe sizes and composition, as well as the locations and relevant characteristics of wells, tanks, pumps, valves, and hookups to other towns. He also requested a map of the towns aquifers and a map of potential well sites.
Richard Mandell requested a copy of the WMAC charter and clarification of the responsibilities of the WMAC.
3) PRESENTATION BY CLIFF TOWNER ON HIS VIEWS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE SHARON WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Cliff Towner presented a brief history of the recent evolution of Sharon's water system. He began by citing a study which warned that failure of Well #4 would result in a serious emergency (500,000 GPD shortfall in summer) and therefore a new well is needed by the town. A number of sites were considered, but two were deemed most suitable: the Islamic Center and Canton Street. He characterized the two sites as follows:
Islamic Center Canton Street
Depth of stratified drift 40 feet 75 feet
Recharge capacity less more
Piping cost expensive minimal
Environmental issues sensitive area not sensitive area
Water quality $1.5 M filtration plant pure water
Roadwork needed more less
Electric work needed more less
Land availability eminent domain required enough for Zone 1
Mr. Towner said that neither the Selectmen nor the WMAC was made aware of the obvious advantages of the Canton Street site over the Islamic Center site. He said that the Water Department wasted $600,000 on the Islamic Center site before the project was stopped. He said the Canton Street site was never revisited subsequent to the rejection of the Islamic Center site and the town is still without an additional well.
Next, Mr. Towner discussed the High Pressure Service District (HPSD) proposal for the Hampton Road area. He said the reason put forth for the project was inadequate water pressure for fire safety. He blamed excessive lawn watering for emptying the Hampton Road water tank in summer and unacceptably lowering water pressure in the area. After $200,000 was spent on engineering design for the HPSD project, it was defeated at town meeting. Plans for the HPSD were altered several times, and four different locations were recommended for booster pump installation. At present no location is specified.
One proposal even suggested pumping water up to the proposed new elevated tank servicing the HPSD and then draining back down to keep the Hampton Road tank full.
Mr. Towner pointed out that the Water Department, with the assistance of Metcalf & Eddy, has spent considerable time and money making a model to prove the need for an HPSD and a new water tank for the Hampton Road area. He said the scenarios produced with the model were based on the assumption that the system be able to deliver up to 1,500 gpm for up to four hours (360,000 gallons). However, the ISO (Insurance Service Organization), which sets the standards for needed fire flow, requires only 500 gpm for up to two hours (60,000 gallons) for the Hampton Road residential area where houses are more than 100' apart. He further stated that the worst two fires in Sharon in recent memory each required only one hour to put out. For all these reasons, basing the design of the HPSD on the assumption that 1,500 gallons per minute for four
hours would be needed to fight a fire is inappropriate, and leads one to the false conclusion that an expensive HPSD and new tank are needed.
Mr. Towner then took issue with some of the arguments advanced by the consultants to justify installation of new water mains. First, he addressed the contention that sufficient water cannot be moved efficiently from the west side of town to the east side without bigger pipes. He pointed out that the pipe system in Sharon is a grid that is flooded by the four water storage tanks, so that whenever water is drawn from any point in the grid, water immediately flows from nearby pipes (which are fed by the four tanks) to fill the void.
Second, he faulted the consultants for recommending oversized water mains, saying that it serves no purpose to insert a section of 12" main between two sections of 10" main because you can only get out of a pipe what you put into it. He also cited the example of Depot Street, where 16" pipe is about to be installed heading east from Well #4 at a cost of $75,000. The pipe exiting Well #4 is only 12" in diameter, which limits the flow of water.
Mr. Towner argued that Sharon should maintain control of its water supply rather than importing MWRA water or desalinized water from Aquaria. He urged the WMAC to submit a prioritized action plan to the Board of Selectmen. He stated that his own priorities would be as follows:
1) Install filtration for Well #6 to remove iron and manganese. He said that would enable the town to pump up to 400,000 gallons per day without fear of contaminating the town's water supply. This would give some of the other wells a rest, and provide additional reserve supply capacity.
2) Replace 2,000 feet of 6" pipe along Morse Street with 10" pipe. This would allow water to move more rapidly from the large Massapoag Avenue tank to the Hampton Road area during periods of high demand, as well as alleviating the stagnation problem in the Massapoag Avenue tank.
3) Establish an emergency 12" connection to Stoughton's MWRA water at Cobb's Corner in case of well failure. Install a booster pump to push the water up to Sharon.
4) Negotiate with NStar to build a new 400,000 GPD well on Canton Street. Enlist Greg Meister to negotiate the acquisition of the property.
Following Mr. Towner's presentation, Eric Hooper was recognized. He asked that WMAC members respect the confidentiality of his email communications when so requested. He then criticized the following statements by Mr. Towner:
• Saying that there would be no cost to establish an emergency connection to MWRA at Cobb's Corner. Mr. Hooper said that there would be a cost associated with construction of the necessary plumbing.
• Saying that the Water Department proposed a system whereby water would be pumped up into a new, elevated tank in the HPSD and then used to keep the Hampton Road tank full. Mr. Hooper asserted that the Water Department never proposed such a plan, saying that it would not make sense.
• Saying that a filtration system for Well #6 would increase the overall pumping capacity of the town. Mr. Hooper said that a filtration system would have no effect on the amount of water that could be pumped from Well #6.
• Saying that the choice between the Canton Street well site and the Islamic Center well site was obvious. Mr. Hooper said that there were issues with the Canton Street well site, such as the presence of wetlands, that made it a less than ideal site.
• Saying that the Water Department's water main sizing proposals were illogical. Mr. Hooper said that Mr. Towner's piping proposals were simplistic remedies for complex problems.
Mr. Towner was then given a chance to rebut. He said he had obtained his copy of the Water Department's five-year plan at the Selectmen’s Office. He reminded the committee that he had only claimed there would be no charge from MWRA for an emergency hookup, and had characterized the cost of the plumbing as “short money”. Mr. Towner cited the 2000 Horsley and Witten report as the source of the plan to pump water up to the HPSD tank and then back down to the Hampton Road tank.
Charles Goodman produced pumping records from Well #6 indicating that well is underutilized, and pointed out that the effective yield of usable, clean water would be substantially increased by a filtration system.
Jack Sulik challenged Mr. Towner to identify the four different proposed locations of the HPSD tanks. Mr. Towner did so, along with their proposed elevations as well as the consulting reports that made the proposals. Then Mr. Sulik made a motion to require Mr. Towner to submit his comments in writing to the Water Department in advance of future WMAC meetings to give the Water Department an opportunity to prepare a rebuttal. His motion was not seconded.
4) UPDATE ON METCALF & EDDY REPORT CONCERNING HYDRAULIC MODEL FOR TOWN WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Mr. Hooper said one purpose of the HPSD and water tower is to meet projected 2020 demand in the Hampton Road/Mountain Street area. He requested clarification from the WMAC as to which of the eight listed model scenarios would be most relevant to determining which HPSD configuration would be most feasible.
Roger Thibault suggested that the choice of which scenarios to run depended on what the objectives were. Lealdon Langley said that finding more sources of water for Sharon is more important than boosting pressure in the Hampton Road area.
Mr. Hooper explained that the use of Well #8 in the model was hypothetical, and did not indicate any intention to revive the Islamic Center site. He added that the Canton Street site is predominantly wetland, which might preclude its use as a well site.
Lealdon Langley pointed out that some wetlands are more critical than others from a regulatory standpoint, and that the DEP in some cases may allow municipalities to site wells near wetlands where the public need outweighs loss of habitat. He suggested that the Islamic Center site is more environmentally sensitive than the Canton Street site.
Ben Puritz asked Mr. Hooper if the model presently assumes a needed fire flow of 1,500 gpm. Mr. Hooper replied that he thought it was either 1,000 gpm or 1,500 gpm.
5) PRESENTATION BY ERIC HOOPER ON 5-YEAR CAPITAL PROJECTS PLAN FOR THE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Eric Hooper presented the Water Department's five year Proposed Schedule of Water Department Capital Projects. In response to a question from Michael Birschbach, Mr. Hooper explained that each fiscal year of the Water Department begins on July 1 of the prior year.
Mr. Hooper proposed that spending $25,000 to study the feasibility of obtaining supplemental water from MWRA and another $25,000 to study the feasibility of obtaining supplemental water from Aquaria be given high priority.
Lealdon Langley cautioned that regulations governing interbasin transfer of water might make it difficult to import water from the MWRA or Aquaria given the adequacy of Sharon’s internal water resources.
Richard Mandell and Paul Lauenstein questioned the absence of a line item for the cost of a new well, including land and construction. Mr. Hooper said one reason he omitted the cost of a new well was that he thinks the town of Sharon would block any effort to build a new well. He also cited the difficulty of estimating the cost of a well without knowing its size or location.
Mr. Hooper next addressed the $600,000 expenditure to replace A/C piping along Edge Hill Road. He said there have been frequent and costly water main breaks there due to high water pressure of 90 to 100 psi caused by the low elevation. He explained that not only does A/C pipe break more easily than steel pipe, but also it is harder to repair due to the tendency of cracks to travel many feet beyond the initial break.
Joe Roach speculated that truck traffic on Edge Hill Road might be responsible for water main breaks, but said there was no way to prevent trucks from using the road.
Paul Lauenstein asked if the existing pressure reducing valve reduces the pressure, and if an additional or a larger pressure reducing valve would solve the problem. Roger Thibault said a pressure reducing valve might cause water hammer that might cause an A/C pipe to break. Mr. Hooper said he would investigate this approach.
Mention was made of the ongoing $1.3 million radio read meter project, scheduled for completion in 2007.
Next, the proposal to purchase approximately 30 acres of land on Maskwonicut Street from the MBTA for $500,000 was discussed. Mr. Hooper said this land, which is roughly 30% wetland, is a possible well site that could back up or replace Well #4 since it would tap the same aquifer. Furthermore, he said that buying this land would serve to pre-empt construction of 40B housing that might contaminate Well #4. Paul Lauenstein pointed out that this parcel of land is downstream from Well #4 and therefore any contamination of this site could not reach Well #4.
Completion of the Pine Street loop for $200,000 was the next item for discussion. Mr. Hooper explained that the purpose of this project is to prevent water hammer, but acknowledged that it was postponed last year and could be postponed again this year.
Richard Mandell and Paul Lauenstein asked why there was no budget for water conservation measures. Mr. Hooper said there was no precedent for such a line item on a Water Department capital spending plan. David Grasfield said that the absence of a line item for conservation implied that it was not taken seriously. Ben Puritz pointed out that there is already a rebate program in effect, and that it could be expanded. When asked by Rory McGregor, the three selectmen voiced no objections in principle to spending for conservation. He then suggested formation of a conservation subcommittee consisting of Paul Lauenstein, Lealdon Langley and Richard Mandell to formulate a conservation strategy and a budget for the Water Department.
ACTION ITEMS:
The consensus of the meeting was to prioritize the filtration system for Well #6 in the five-year plan, aiming to complete this $525,000 project in FY 2005, and de-prioritize the $200,000 Pine Street loop project.
Langley, Lauenstein and Mandell will meet prior to the next WMAC meeting to begin formulating a water conservation strategy and budget for the Water Department.
6) DISCUSSION ON MANAGEMENT APPROACHES TO SHARON WATER ISSUES
Rory McGregor said he thought input from other town committees such as the Lake Management Committee and the Conservation Commission was helpful to the WMAC. Norman Katz expressed his opinion that diversity of opinion is a help in making sound decisions. Joe Roach said he wished the representatives from the Lake Management Committee and the Conservation Commission had stayed to hear Mr. Hooper's presentation of the capital spending plan.
David Grasfield said the charter and accountability of the Water Management Advisory Committee should be revisited to see if they are still appropriate. He mentioned that Sharon's Recreation Committee answers to Dave Clifton, the head of the Recreation Department, as opposed to the WMAC, which advises the Selectmen. He also cautioned new members of the WMAC to abide by the Open Meeting Laws, avoiding private meetings involving more than a quorum.
Paul Lauenstein suggested that, when the WMAC cannot achieve consensus, it should provide both minority and majority opinions to the Selectmen to help them decide the issue.
7) STUDENT APPOINTMENTS TO WMAC
Richard Mandell will attempt to bring a senior from Sharon High School to the next WMAC meeting.
8) NEW BUSINESS
None
9) NEXT MEETING
Thursday evening, November 6 at 7:30, Town Hall
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