SHARON WATER MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (WMAC) MEETING MINUTES FOR 11/6/03
Prepared by Paul Lauenstein
Present at meeting:
WMAC members Rory McGregor, Jack Sulik, Lealdon Langley, Roger Thibault, Richard Mandell, Len Sekuler and Paul Lauenstein; DPW Superintendent Eric Hooper; Selectman David Grasfield; Finance Committee member Charles Goodman; Conservation Agent Greg Meister; Conservation Commissioner Kathy Roth and citizen Alice Cheyer
Summary of Minutes for the 11/6/03 WMAC Meeting
1) Review and approve October 9 minutes
2) Review procedural issues
a) Information gathering "do's and don't's"
b) Review process for Water Department's 5-year Capital Plan
c) Appoint committee members to subcommittees(plus lengthy digression to discuss radio read meter system)
d) Communication channels for making recommendations to Selectmen
3) New water source exploration initiatives
• Presentation by Eric Hooper and discussion of potential well sites
• ACTION ITEM - The Water Resources Subcommittee will be formed and tasked to make recommendations on how to allocate the $50,000 budgeted for well exploration in FY ‘04.
4) Primer on hydraulics as it relates to the water distribution system in Sharon
• ACTION ITEM - Roger Thibault will present a 20 minute "primer on hydraulics" for the benefit of WMAC members lacking a background in engineering at the December 11 meeting.
5) 5-year plan review
• Acceleration of treatment plant for Well #6
• Deferral of Pine Street loop project
• Addition of line item for conservation
• Possible addition of line item for purchasing Rattlesnake Hill land
• Debate need for studies of MWRA and Aquaria as supplemental sources
• Debate short-term emergency backup: Islamic Center well vs. MWRA
6) Report from conservation subcommittee
• Need to begin with accounting for water use to target conservation efforts
• ACTION ITEM - The conservation subcommittee will gather water use data and meet to analyze it before the next WMAC meeting.
7) Final comments
• Need to establish budget priorities for capital expenditures in FY '05
8) Next meeting: Thursday, December 11 at 7:30 at Sharon Town Hall
Detailed minutes for the 11/6/03 WMAC Meeting
1) REVIEW AND APPROVE MINUTES FROM OCT. 9 MEETING
October 9 meeting minutes were reviewed and approved with the following alterations:
• Change the wording of Jack Sulik's motion to require Cliff Towner (as opposed to any citizen) to submit his comments in writing to the Water Department in advance of future WMAC meetings.
• Change Eric Hooper's justification of the HPSD to read "one purpose" instead of "the purpose" and clarify the 2020 demand to be that of the Hampton Road/Mountain Street area.
• Delete the reference to Lealdon Langley's questioning of the need for the HPSD, leaving only his comment that it is a lower priority than finding new sources of water.
2) REVIEW PROCEDURAL ISSUES
a) Information Gathering Initiatives
Suggestions were made about how to approach government agencies or private consultants for information pertaining to water issues in Sharon. They included:
• Identify oneself as a WMAC member, clarifying whether acting individually or on behalf of the committee.
• Discuss up front how consulting charges, if any, would be handled.
• As appropriate, notify the DPW before requesting information from entities involved in negotiations, or consultants who might charge the DPW for time spent.
b) Review Process for Water Department's 5-Year Capital Plan
The WMAC must provide the Selectmen with recommendations for Water Department spending on capital budget line items in FY '05 by February 2004. Spending recommendations for subsequent years are not required, although they provide useful context for FY '05.
Eric Hooper informed the committee that the Water Department may provide approximately $500,000 toward the purchase of Rattlesnake Hill if the warrant passes at the Special Town Meeting on December 8. In that case an adjustment would be made to the 5-Year Capital Plan and discussed further at the next WMAC meeting on December 11.
Eric Hooper suggested that an appropriate amount for conservation spending in FY '05 would be $25,000.
Rory McGregor reminded the committee that on October 9 the WMAC voted to recommend construction of a $525,000 iron and manganese treatment plant for Well #6 in FY '05 and to defer the $200,000 Pine Street loop project.
c) Appointment of Committee Members to Become Point Persons on Select Issues
Rory McGregor suggested that each WMAC member focus on selected segments of the water supply issues facing the town. Several members expressed interest in specializing in the following areas:
• Radio Read Meter System Paul Lauenstein
• Water Resources Richard Mandell, Roger Thibault, Lealdon Langley, Jack Sulik
• Distribution Network Jack Sulik
• Conservation Paul Lauenstein, Michael Birschbach, Lealdon Langley, Richard Mandell
Alice Cheyer suggested forming a group to look into the connection, if any, between the lake and the town wells.
Eric Hooper, in response to a recent newspaper article, discussed the relative merits of Walpole's radio read meter system compared to Sharon's proposed system. He made the following points:
• Walpole's system only includes the radio transmitters. It does not include replacement of older model analog meters with newer digital meters, as does Sharon's proposed system. Eric Hooper said the older analog meters tend to be less reliable because sometimes no signal is sent when the dials are moving between two numbers.
• The transmitters in Walpole's system only transmit twice daily. Sharon's transmitters send signals continuously. Eric Hooper said new battery technology allows the radios to transmit continuously for 20 to 30 years before needing replacement.
• Walpole may need more than the 21 expensive pole-mounted radio receiver/transmitters included in their initial plan to achieve 100% coverage of the town.
• Sharon's $1.3 million dollar projection is a maximum figure including replacement of all old meters. Eric Hooper believes the actual expenditure will be less than $1.3 million, considering that many of the meters slated to be replaced in the original estimate are still serviceable.
• Although Sharon's system will only include one mobile receiver and will require the data to be gathered by car, radio receiver/transmitters can be purchased and retrofitted in the future after the technology has been improved.
Eric Hooper suggested that Weston & Sampson prepare a presentation on Sharon's proposed radio read meter system for the WMAC at the December 11 meeting. He said he would make copies of the RFP available to interested WMAC members.
d) Recommendations to Selectmen
The WMAC's recommendations to the Selectmen may be communicated via a variety of media including the monthly minutes, email, letters, and presentations at Selectmens' meetings and WMAC meetings. The WMAC may also present information to the public via the news media.
3) NEW WATER SOURCE EXPLORATION INITIATIVES
Eric Hooper presented the status of well site exploration in Sharon. He displayed a map prepared for the town by IEP in 1987 showing underlying depths of stratified drift. Stratified drift is defined by the Illustrated Glossary of Geologic Terms as "debris washed from a glacier and laid down in well-defined layers." It typically has the permeability needed for a well. He also displayed the IEP map showing the locations where test drills were done in many locations around Sharon to measure the depth of stratified drift. The data from these test drills was interpolated to create the stratified drift map. Eric Hooper explained that this map was only an approximation of actual underground composition.
Eric Hooper's map had colored pushpins representing different types of wells. Clusters of gray pushpins outside Sharon's borders represented wells of neighboring towns.
Four yellow pushpins represented four of the five wells bored in an attempt to provide irrigation water for town playing fields. The irrigation well at East Elementary School was abandoned due to virtually no stratified drift as indicated by the map. Three irrigation borings made at Ames Street, Sharon High School and Deborah Sampson Park were all abandoned because impermeable till was encountered and they could not yield enough water to supply the demands of watering the ball fields. The IEP map indicates intermediate depths (20 to 40 feet) of stratified drift in all three of these locations. Eric Hooper pointed out that these three failed irrigation wells were located along a line between the lake and Town Wells #3, #2, and #4 along Beaver Brook, and provide evidence that there may be no groundwater flow between the lake and
these production wells. The fifth location where a boring was made for an irrigation well was near the Gavins Pond soccer fields. It was abandoned due to fear that it would interfere with the nearby Well #7.
Lealdon Langley asked whether they had ever considered using surface waters near the sites to water the fields. It was clarified that Lealdon was referring to Hammershop Pond near the Ames Street Playground and Gavins Pond. Eric Hooper replied that this had been thought of but not pursued because it was considered unlikely to get approval.
Two blue pushpins indicated the locations of wells evaluated and rejected in favor of the Islamic Center as a location for Well #8. One is at the end of Belcher Street, where insufficient water was found. The second was near the junction of Canton Street and Dedham Street. Although this site can yield ample water, it was rejected due to evidence of nitrate. The proximity of secondary roads within its Zone 1 would not necessarily disqualify this site.
A red pushpin indicated the location of Well #8 near the Islamic Center. This well was abandoned due to its proximity to environmentally sensitive wetlands and iron and manganese contamination.
Two white pushpins indicated the locations of test wells bored recently in the vicinity of the cranberry bogs near the end of South Main Street. One of these, on the south shoulder of South Walpole Street just west of I-95, showed less than 10 feet of stratified drift in an area where the IEP map indicated there should be over 60 feet of stratified drift. The other, drilled on the east shoulder of Old Post Road just opposite a cranberry bog, showed a potential yield of 100,000 gallons per day. However, this location might be compromised by residual amounts of pesticides resulting from decades of farming cranberries.
Two steel pushpins on bracketing the Canton Street site (but along the same aquifer) indicated other potential production well sites. One, the lower cemetery golf course site off Edge Hill Road, already yields large volumes of water for Sharon Memorial Park. Its usefulness might be compromised by the same kind of summertime permit restrictions related to low flows in the Neponset River that limit Canton's Well #9 nearby. The other, the 30 acre MBTA property off Maskwonicut Street, is for sale at an estimated price of $500,000. It has been targeted for purchase in FY '05 in the Sharon Water Department's current 5-Year Capital Plan.
Lealdon Langley pointed out that older wells often have grandfathered permits that are greater than would be allowed at the same site today due to the more restrictive current regulatory environment. Lealdon Langley added that town water use permits are population-based, and may increase with growing population, but permit increases that harm the environment are not usually granted.
Jack Sulik pointed out that the pumping capacity of Well #4 exceeds the 1.0 mgd maximum specified in the permit, and asked Lealdon Langley about the chances of increasing this permitted daily limit to 1.2 mgd based on increasing population in Sharon. Lealdon Langley said he would have to review the specific language in the permit, but doubted an increase could be obtained.
Eric Hooper said the Neponset River watershed and the Canoe River watershed, both of which are fed by Sharon water, are already classified as stressed, although they are not yet as drastically impacted as the oversubscribed Ipswich River watershed.
Richard Mandell asked about the possibility of locating a new well in the aquifer near Briggs Pond. Eric Hooper cited both the high cost of extending a water main from that area and Stoughton's rejection of the same aquifer as reasons not to attempt to develop a well there.
Rory McGregor asked Eric Hooper for details about how the $50,000 tentatively budgeted for in-town water source exploration in the Water Department's proposed FY '05 Capital Plan would be spent. Eric Hooper said he would begin with spending a few hundred dollars conducting a water quality test at an existing well site near Sharon Memorial Park. Paul Lauenstein then asked where the remaining $49,000 would be spent. Eric Hooper commented that the Water Department’s plans for spending $50,000 on well exploration are still preliminary. Rory McGregor referred the question of budgeting for well exploration to the WMAC members who expressed interest in participating in the Water Resources subcommittee.
ACTION ITEM - The Water Resources Subcommittee will make recommendations at the next WMAC meeting on how to allocate the funds budgeted for in-town water source exploration in FY '05.
4) PRIMER ON HYDRAULICS AS IT RELATES TO THE WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN SHARON
Roger Thibault agreed to make a 20 minute presentation at the next WMAC meeting. Paul Lauenstein requested that the presentation be relevant to actual projects such as the 16" pipe replacement project on Depot Street, the 2,000 foot water main replacement project on Morse Street, the Pine Street loop project and the replacement of A/C pipe and pressure reducing valves in the vicinity of Edge Hill Road and Tiot Street.
ACTION ITEM - Roger Thibault will present a 20 minute "primer on hydraulics" for the benefit of WMAC members lacking a background in engineering at the December 11 meeting.
5) 5-YEAR PLAN REVIEW
Rory McGregor reiterated the decisions made by the WMAC at the October 9 meeting to accelerate the construction of the iron and manganese treatment plant at Well #6 for completion in FY '05, and defer the Pine Street Loop project until after FY '05.
Eric Hooper acknowledged that there should be a line item for conservation in FY '05 and suggested a figure of $25,000. He said any spending for Rattlesnake Hill would influence budget priorities.
With respect to the high priority given by Eric Hooper for spending $50,000 on studies of sourcing water from MWRA and Aquaria, Lealdon Langley pointed out that these sources would not be available unless Sharon could demonstrate that it had exhausted all local sources. He questioned why the plan recommended pursuing the MWRA connection if we had not yet demonstrated that we had exhausted all local viable sources, pointing out that if we found a local viable source there would be no need to pursue the MWRA or Aquaria. Eric Hooper stated that he felt that it was so unlikely that we could site a new source in town because of the objections of environmentalists that he felt we should pursue both at the same time. Lealdon Langley disagreed with this statement saying that Well #8 had especially sensitive environmental
concerns, and stating further that Eric Hooper had, at the previous meeting, pointed out the requirement to exhaust all local viable sources before out of basin sources could be pursued. Eric Hooper concluded by saying he felt that it was just a matter of saving time to pursue all potential sources at once. Lealdon Langley agreed that a time savings would result.
A discussion ensued regarding the difference between using MWRA as a short-term emergency backup source of water, which could be accomplished without extensive permitting or inter-basin transfer issues, and paying the substantial cost of joining MWRA to obtain supplementary water on a regular basis. Lealdon Langley said he favors pursuing a short-term emergency backup connection to the MWRA.
Eric Hooper expressed a preference for using Well #8 at the Islamic Center for this purpose. Greg Meister said the well at Islamic Center is not a viable emergency backup source of water.
Alice Cheyer said she believes Sharon will need to import water in order to meet 2020 demand, and suggested desalinized water as the best source.
6) REPORT FROM CONSERVATION SUBCOMMITTEE
Paul Lauenstein reported on the conservation subcommittee's meeting of October 27, which was attended by Michael Birschbach, Richard Mandell and Lealdon Langley. He pointed out that conserving water in Sharon could spare the town the escalating incremental expense of sourcing ever more water. He said the group settled on accounting for water use as a good way to identify the most cost-effective ways to conserve water.
Kathy Roth recommended contacting water departments in other towns to find out what has worked for them.
Alice Cheyer suggested that the Water Department's rebate program for washing machines is effective. Paul Lauenstein pointed out that toilets are the largest indoor consumer of water, yet there is no rebate program in Sharon for low-flow toilets. Eric Hooper said that all toilet replacements are required by law to be low flow toilets, which is not the case for washing machines.
ACTION ITEM - The conservation subcommittee will gather water use data and meet to analyze it before the next WMAC meeting.
7) FINAL COMMENTS
Charles Goodman had three questions for Eric Hooper. First, he inquired if the wells by the cemetery are permitted. Eric confirmed that the wells are not permitted.
Second, Charles Goodman wanted to know if watering of municipal fields is metered. Eric Hooper said that it was. Paul Lauenstein asked if the meters work properly. Eric Hooper acknowledged that significant quantities of water used to irrigate municipal fields are not recorded due to malfunctioning meters.
Third, Charles Goodman asked if the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) commercial level of 1500 gpm, rather than the residential level of 500 gpm, were used for the water consumption rate to fight a fire in the model for justifying the High Pressure Service District. He noted that houses in the Hampton Road area are over 100 feet apart, which signifies that the residential figure of 500 gpm could be used. Eric Hooper said the commercial level was used in the model because if there were a fire in the Route 1 commercial area, the water used to fight it would come from the entire town.
Paul Lauenstein said the WMAC needs to make more progress prioritizing the proposals in the Water Department's 5-year plan for the Selectmen in the December 11 meeting.
8) SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
WMAC will aim to hold future meetings on the second Thursday of every month in order to facilitate reciprocal attendance by Finance Committee and Conservation Commission members.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, December 11 at 7:30 PM at Sharon Town Hall.
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