SHARON WATER MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (WMAC) MEETING MINUTES FOR JUNE 10, 2004
Prepared by Paul Lauenstein
Present at meeting:
WMAC Chairman Rory McGregor; WMAC members Michael Birschbach, Richard Mandell, Jack Sulik, Len Sekuler, Lealdon Langley, Roger Thibault and Paul Lauenstein; Selectman David Grasfield; Conservation Agent Greg Meister; Lake Management Committee Chairman Cliff Towner; Finance Committee members Charles Goodman and David Hearne; and citizens Alice Cheyer and Andrew Stead
Summary of Minutes for the 6/10/04 WMAC Meeting
1. Approve minutes of the May 20, 2004 meeting (with alterations)
2. Discuss and approve new procedure for approving minutes
3. Radio Read Meter System
Discussion of the Water Department’s initiative to purchase a radio read meter system was concluded by the following:
MOTION: Move to recommend that the Selectmen approve the purchase of a drive-by radio read meter system from Ti-Sales.
Five voted in favor of this motion and three voted against.
This vote was followed by:
MOTION: Move to recommend that the Selectmen approve the purchase of the e-coder enhancement to the radio read meter system from Ti-Sales.
Two voted in favor of this motion, two voted against, and four abstained.
Copies of Eric Hooper’s recommendation to the Selectmen to purchase the Ti-Sales drive-by radio read meter system were distributed to committee members.
4. Update on exploratory testing of new well sites
GIS overlay of the Gobbi site was distributed.
5. Conservation Commission’s jurisdiction over water issues
6. Water Conservation subcommittee update
7. Water Master Plan (Eric Hooper’s response to Paul Lauenstein’s critique)
8. Empty Seat on Water Management Advisory Committee
9. Other business (Monitoring well graphs)
10. Schedule the next meeting for Thursday, July 1 at 7:30 PM
Detailed Minutes for the 6/10/04 WMAC Meeting
1. Approve minutes of the May 20, 2004 meeting (with alterations)
Rory McGregor requested that acronyms such as MDD (Maximum Daily Demand) and PHD (Peak Hourly Demand) be spelled out.
Len Sekuler pointed out that price quotes for radio read meter systems are not yet public information, and should be withheld from the minutes until the Selectmen decide this issue.
The minutes were approved with alterations.
2. Discuss and approve new procedure for approving minutes
Rory McGregor recommended that draft minutes be emailed to just the members of the committee plus Eric Hooper prior to the following meeting when they would be approved or modified. He felt it was inappropriate to include visitors in the circulation list.
Paul Lauenstein pointed out that people in the audience are often quoted in the minutes. His opinion was that they should be included in the distribution list out of respect for their interest in the proceedings of the committee. He said they should be given the opportunity to preview how they were quoted in case they wanted to make a correction to the minutes at the subsequent meeting.
The sense of the committee was that Rory McGregor’s method was preferable, and it was agreed to restrict circulation to the committee members plus Eric Hooper.
3. Radio Read Meter System
Len Sekuler, chairman of the radio read meter system subcommittee, informed the committee of the results of the deliberations of the subcommittee. He said the subcommittee first selected three finalists, E.J. Prescott, Stiles, and Ti-Sales, all of which proposed drive-by systems. The price quotes of these three were opened. E.J. Prescott was eliminated from consideration based on price, leaving Stiles and Ti-Sales, whose quotes were similar. For purposes of comparison, Mass Installation’s price quote for a fixed network system was opened, and their price turned out to be similar to that of E.J. Prescott and significantly higher than the two drive-by systems. Len Sekuler handed out a chart summarizing the four price quotes. The chart noted that the total estimated cost for installation was $300,000. It also noted that installation
of the Ti-Sales system would cost about $30,000 less than the other systems because about 30% of the meters would be retrofitted and would not require plumbing.
Len Sekuler characterized the reasoning of the five members of the subcommittee as follows:
Dave Masciarelli preferred Ti-Sales because he has had good experience with the Neptune meters they sold to Sharon and has confidence in the company. He was not entirely satisfied with the digital encoder in the Badger meters sold by Stiles. Based on visiting other towns and seeing their hand-held units, he preferred the hand-held unit sold by Ti-Sales, although Stiles’ hand-held unit has been improved since he saw it demonstrated.
Jack Sulik based his preference for Ti-Sales’ system on the fact that it is marginally less expensive than the Stiles system.
Len Sekuler preferred the Stiles system because he believes the batteries will last longer. He pointed out that battery life is an important consideration because of the significant cost of gaining entry to change batteries. He pointed out that the Stiles system conserves power by transmitting only when interrogated, as opposed to the Ti-Sales system that transmits continuously. He also explained that the Stiles battery employs a capacitor that stores electricity for sudden release on demand, which extends the life of the battery to 15 or 20 years.
Eric Hooper preferred the Ti-Sales system on condition that the town purchase the optional, more expensive e-coders. These devices keep track of whether water is being used every 15 minutes for a month. If water is used in at least 50 of the 96 15-minute intervals in a day, it is statistically probable that there is a leak, and a notice can be printed on the water bill advising the customer to check his home for leaks. Eric Hooper preferred the Stiles system (which does not offer e-coders) to the Ti-Sales system without e-coders. He liked Stiles’ graphic mapping system and he thought Stiles’ equipment looked more substantial and better constructed than that of Ti-Sales.
Paul Lauenstein preferred that no contract be awarded at this time.
Rory McGregor summarized Len Sekuler’s presentation, saying that with e-coders, there were three votes for Ti-Sales and one for Stiles. Without e-coders there were two votes for Ti-Sales and two for Stiles.
Paul Lauenstein observed that only 70% of Sharon’s water meters are Neptunes, with which the e-coders are known to be compatible. He asked Len Sekuler if the e-coders would work with the other 30% of non-Neptune meters in Sharon. Len Sekuler said he did not know, but said these meters could be replaced.
Richard Mandell asked if meter reading frequency would affect battery life. Len Sekuler said he did not know.
Roger Thibault asked if the Water Department personnel would be able to install the radio meters. Jack Sulik answered that they would receive training and would be able to do the job. Len Sekuler said the decision about whether or not to outsource some or all of the installation task was separate from which system to buy.
Paul Lauenstein said the reason that the fixed network system proposed by Mass Installation was more expensive than the drive-by systems was that their system included 5,531 new meters, 2,368 more than the 3,166 new meters called for in the RFP. He said this was due to the fact that the majority of Sharon’s meters are Neptune meters, which can only be retrofitted with Neptune encoders, so only Ti-Sales (the only Neptune dealer), could satisfy the terms of the RFP while avoiding replacement of the newer Neptune meters already in place. He said that separating the bids for meters from the bids for radio meter reading systems (as was done in Walpole) would have resulted in the price of the fixed network system proposed by Mass Installation being similar to that of the two lower priced drive-by systems.
Roger Thibault said that Stiles had the same disadvantage as Mass Installation. Len Sekuler added that the Stiles quote, like the Mass Installation quote, included all new meters, but the Mass Installation fixed network system cost considerably more than the Stiles drive-by system.
Jack Sulik said that the Walpole figures were irrelevant, and that the Mass Installation quote to Sharon should be taken at face value.
Roger Thibault asked why the ArKion fixed network quote was left unopened. Len Sekuler answered that no one on the subcommittee preferred that system.
Richard Mandell asked if the RFP was sent out at the behest of the Selectmen, or on the initiative of the Water Department. Rory McGregor answered that the process has been ongoing for three years. He said the Selectmen approved of the Water Department’s efforts to obtain proposals for a radio meter reading system. David Grasfield confirmed this assessment, adding that although the Selectmen had authorized the writing of the RFP by an outside consultant, they had not provided any specific direction to the Water Department regarding the procurement process.
Alice Cheyer commented that leak detection is an important attribute of a radio meter system that would be helpful to a water conservation program. She recalled that the Water Department once called her to suggest she might have a leak. She asked if the Stiles system offered anything comparable to Ti-Sales’ e-coders.
Len Sekuler said that Stiles lacked leak detection capability. He said the primary purpose of the water meters is to measure total water usage by town residents for billing purposes. The town already performs leak detection measures for water mains in the right of way.
Jack Sulik added that helping residents conserve water is incidental to providing them with adequate quantities of potable water. He said monitoring customers’ water use for leak detection amounts to an unacceptable invasion of privacy, as demonstrated by objections to telephone-based meter reading systems.
Richard Mandell said he failed to see the need for the triple redundancy envisioned by Eric Hooper in insisting on hand-held as well as drive-by capabilities as a pre-condition for considering fixed network systems. He said failure of a fixed network would not create a serious emergency, and pointed out that it could be repaired in a few days at most. He added that he preferred to postpone a decision until the best choice for Sharon became more apparent.
Michael Birschbach questioned the need for any radio meter system.
Lealdon Langley listed the benefits of a radio meter reading system as the ability to send out water bills monthly, more accurate meter readings, elimination of the need to walk door-to-door taking meter readings, and leak detection. He said that the meter replacement aspect of the project would correct under-reading and reduce unaccounted-for water.
Rory McGregor added that a radio meter reading system would allow rates to be adjusted on a seasonal basis by virtue of being able to read all the water meters in town monthly.
Michael Birschbach doubted that overall Water Department labor would actually be reduced with a radio meter system, adding that more labor and postage would be needed to send out the water bills more frequently. He said the only cost justification put forth by the Water Department was inadequate.
Rory McGregor said the benefits of a radio meter system could not be quantified for purposes of a cost-benefit analysis. He said the reasons for moving ahead with the project were subjective.
Michael Birschbach said the impetus for purchasing a radio meter reading system came from the Water Department, not the Selectmen, and that the Finance Committee had only approved a fraction of the funds necessary to purchase the entire system. He emphasized that there are a number of higher priorities facing the town’s water supply, and that expending the resources to buy and install a radio meter reading system would interfere with those higher priorities.
Richard Mandell questioned whether consumers would reduce their water use if they were provided with records of their water use. He pointed out that people fill up their gas-guzzling SUVs regardless of the price of gasoline, and would not be deterred by their water bills because water is so cheap. He said a dramatic increase in the price of water would be needed to get people to use less water. He added that the Water Department has a conflict with promoting water conservation because of its need to sell as much water as possible to maximize revenues.
Jack Sulik took strong exception, saying that the Water Department encourages people to conserve water and does not try to increase water sales. He said the Water Department is the only utility that discourages sale of its product.
Lealdon Langley added that the Water Department does promote water conservation. He said water is a public resource and the Water Department has an obligation to provide water to the community and simultaneously protect the resource.
Rory McGregor commented that water rates were increased three years ago, but had less effect on people’s water use than outdoor watering restrictions.
Len Sekuler said that many meters have an odometer on the outside of the house that increments in response to a pulse from the meter register in the basement. He said these odometers sometimes don’t advance at the same rate as the actual meter, resulting in under-reads. When the discrepancy is rectified, such as when the house is sold and the actual meter is read, the customer could face a large catch-up payment.
Michael Birschbach questioned the need to spend $1 million on a radio meter reading system to address this relatively minor issue.
Paul Lauenstein added that this only happens 20 to 50 times per year.
Lealdon Langley said a radio meter system would be a valuable tool for managing the town’s water supply, as outlined by Weston & Sampson at the December 11 WMAC meeting.
Michael Birschbach warned that some residents might refuse to allow the town to install a radio transmitter in their homes.
Jack Sulik said that the town could simply cut off their water supply if they refused to comply.
Rory McGregor said the Ti-Sales system appeared to be the choice of the majority of those subcommittee members who were interested in drive-by systems. He proposed a vote to choose between selecting the Ti-Sales system or suspending the present RFP process.
Paul Lauenstein reminded the committee that the outcome would be different depending on whether the Ti-Sales solution included the e-coder option or not.
Rory McGregor said the initial vote would be taken without the e-coder.
MOTION: Move to recommend that the Selectmen approve the purchase of a drive-by radio read meter system without the e-coder option from Ti-Sales.
Five voted in favor of this motion and three voted against.
Rory McGregor asked those in opposition to state their reasons.
Richard Mandell said the best interests of the town were not served by disallowing consideration of fixed network systems. He said it would cost much less to buy a fixed network system up front than to buy a drive-by system and then upgrade it later to a fixed network system.
Paul Lauenstein said a drive-by system had not been adequately cost-justified, and would pre-empt purchase of a similarly priced fixed network system that could be cost-justified based on its usefulness as part of a water conservation program.
Michael Birschbach said there were many higher priorities such as new wells and water quality issues that should be addressed before purchasing a drive-by radio meter system whose cost/benefit to the town had not been demonstrated to his satisfaction.
Greg Meister asked why not accept the offer of a free pilot installation from a fixed network vendor to evaluate their system.
Rory McGregor answered that there would be no need for such a pilot if the decision has been made to buy a drive-by system.
Len Sekuler opened the topic of whether or not to recommend the e-coder option to the Selectmen.
Rory McGregor said he thought the e-coders sounded interesting as a way to detect leaks by recording whether water was flowing every 15 minutes.
Jack Sulik questioned whether this constituted an invasion of privacy.
Lealdon Langley said the Water Department is a public utility that delivers a public resource, and suggested that the public interest in conserving water outweighs the privacy issue.
Len Sekuler said the e-coder represents less of an invasion of privacy than a fixed network system because the e-coder merely detects whether or not water is running, whereas a fixed network system provides quantified daily water consumption.
Richard Mandell pointed out that semi-annual water use is already a matter of public record with the existing manual meter reading system, and that a fixed network system would only provide greater detail by recording daily use.
Jack Sulik objected to the expenditure of an extra $56,000 to identify leaks, saying the benefit was unclear.
Len Sekuler made the following motion:
MOTION: Move that if the Selectmen approve the purchase of a drive-by radio meter reading system from Ti-Sales, the WMAC recommends that the e-coder enhancement should also be purchased.
Two voted in favor of this motion (Len Sekuler and Lealdon Langley), two voted against (Jack Sulik and Roger Thibault), and four abstained.
Copies of Eric Hooper’s recommendation to the Selectmen to purchase the Ti-Sales drive-by radio read meter system were distributed to committee members.
4. Update on exploratory testing of new well sites
A GIS overlay of the Gobbi site provided by ESS Group, Inc. was distributed.
It illustrated areas of probable medium yield and probable high yield as determined by USGS, and also the locations of 12 exploratory test wells that have been drilled in the vicinity of the Gobbi site.
Paul Lauenstein asked if the results of all 12 exploratory test wells could be summarized, saying that the money had been spent and the work had been done, and now we need to know the results.
Greg Meister said the data from many of these test wells was compiled in conjunction with the 1987 IEP report. Two (one on South Walpole Street west of I-95 and one on Old Post Road by the cranberry bog) were drilled by GZA in 2003 near the locations of older test wells.
Michael Birschbach asked how far from a test well can inferences be made about aquifer characteristics.
Roger Thibault said that is a hard question to answer.
Lealdon Langley said it involves not only surface area, but also the added dimension of depth.
Michael Birschbach asked why GZA had chosen to locate a test well west of I-95 so far from the Gobbi site.
Roger Thibault replied that is was due to lack of access to the site, and said that the Water Department is still awaiting permission to drill a 2.5” exploratory test well on the Gobbi property.
David Grasfield said he thought Intoccia (the new owner of the Gobbi site) would grant access to the site soon.
Greg Meister asked about progress at the Canton Street site. He suggested that in view of the prior testing there that a 2.5” exploratory test well would not reveal any new information.
Rory McGregor replied that results of water quality testing from an irrigation well at the cemetery near the Canton Street site would be ready within a month.
David Grasfield pointed out that ESS recommended that exploratory test wells be drilled at the Canton Street site. He questioned the need for further 2.5” test wells at the Canton Street site, saying test wells had already been drilled there several years ago when it was being considered as an alternative to the Islamic Center site. He said those tests indicated good water quality and quantity. He added that he saw no reason not to take the next step of drilling an 8” test well right away at the Canton Street site.
Lealdon Langley said the DEP occasionally grants permission to bypass the 2.5” exploratory test well stage and install an 8” test well.
Rory McGregor asked if an 8” test well without a pump test is an option.
Roger Thibault replied that an 8” well is considerably more costly than a 2.5” well, and that the point of a larger diameter well is to facilitate the kind of high volume pumping typical of an extended pump test.
Greg Meister explained that the DEP does not require a permit for exploratory test wells such as they do for a formal pump test. He emphasized that the DEP encourages towns to gather as much data as possible prior to conducting a formal pump test, including drilling 8” or larger exploratory test wells and pumping them for up to several days. He said a permit to perform exploratory testing on this scale is not required by the DEP. Permission may be easily obtained from the local Conservation Commission. Extended pumping from a larger diameter well provides much more information about a potential of a well site than a 2.5” well, yet costs much less than a formal pump test. However, a more formal pump test requiring a DEP permit is required to obtain a permit to construct a permanent municipal well.
Jack Sulik said that previous tests at the Canton Street site indicated elevated nitrate levels in the range of 3.5 mg/l.
Richard Mandell pointed out that several 2.5” monitoring wells surrounding the 8” well are needed to measure drawdown of the water table in a pump test.
Charles Goodman asked if water quality could be determined from a 2.5” exploratory test well.
Lealdon Langley replied that such samples would be useful as a preliminary indicator of water quality at the site. However, a pump test might give different results because water would be pulled from a greater distance and be more representative of water quality obtained from continuous high volume pumping of a town well.
David Grasfield encouraged the committee to move forward expeditiously with testing, saying that Sharon is running out of potential well sites.
Roger Thibault said that at this point it makes sense for cost reasons to obtain water quality analyses from the nearby Sharon Memorial Park, where water is pumped at high volumes for lawn watering of the cemetery.
Cliff Towner said it is possible that, with high volume pumping, nitrate levels might be lower than the 3.5 mg/l measured in earlier low volume tests.
5. Conservation Commission’s jurisdiction over water issues
Greg Meister informed the WMAC that many activities related to Sharon’s water supply fall under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Commission. He said that the reason he attends WMAC meetings is that the Conservation Commission is responsible for protecting the town’s wetlands, which may be affected by the volume and distribution of groundwater pumping, as well as the siting of new wells.
Greg Meister said he agreed with Michael Birschbach’s position that the radio meter system should be postponed because it is a low priority and may divert funds from more important projects.
Greg Meister said that Jack Sulik, in responding to Richard Mandell’s comment about the Water Department’s interest in selling as much water as possible, misrepresented the Water Department’s record of promoting water conservation. He said water conservation originated with citizens and the WMAC, not the Water Department. He pointed out that dangerously low water levels in Sharon’s water storage tanks and a notice of non-compliance with DEP permit requirements forced the Water Department to initiate water conservation measures such as outdoor watering restrictions.
6. Water Conservation subcommittee update
Paul Lauenstein reported that a meeting of the water conservation subcommittee was held on Monday evening, June 7. It was attended by subcommittee members Lealdon Langley and Paul Lauenstein, as well as Selectman David Grasfield, Lake Committee Chairman Cliff Towner and Conservation Agent Greg Meister.
Cliff Towner and Greg Meister introduced a plan to improve aquifer recharge by slowing the release of runoff out of town.
Paul Lauenstein reported that attendees discussed retrofitting a home with water conserving appliances and publicizing the results, offering rebates for creative water-saving projects, and raising water prices for heavy users as possible tactics. They also discussed revisions to the water bills that would provide users with feedback on their water consumption relative to town averages and the 65 gpcd state standard.
Lealdon Langley said the nitrate problem should be addressed as part of a water conservation program. He offered to bring an aquifer model to a WMAC meeting to illustrate basic hydrologic principles, and added that the model could be useful as part of an education campaign involving the schools and public service announcements on local cable TV.
David Grasfield encouraged taking action. He said the committee should make specific, practical recommendations to the Selectmen for programs that would encourage water conservation and gain some momentum. He added that the washing machine rebate program has been a success.
Rory McGregor suggested adopting the rebate program advanced by the subcommittee, and promoting it with inserts in the water bills, announcements on cable TV, and involvement of high school students.
Lealdon Langley suggested involving the building inspector and contractors in telling people about rebate programs for water saving devices when they are remodeling.
Paul Lauenstein asked how these initiatives could be implemented, and suggested hiring a part-time water conservation agent as did the town of Concord.
Jack Sulik agreed that it would take a part-time water conservation agent with a college degree to coordinate and implement a water conservation program.
Rory McGregor said the committee should start with initiatives that could be implemented successfully with a high probability of success in order to build momentum.
7. Water Master Plan
Copies of Eric Hooper’s written response to Paul Lauenstein’s critique of the Metcalf & Eddy report were handed out.
Jack Sulik said the town is due for a Water Master Plan Update, and that the Metcalf & Eddy report should not be considered as such, its title notwithstanding. He said a Water Master Plan should be a comprehensive overview.
Rory McGregor agreed, saying that fire safety, health and water quality should be considered in addition to water conservation.
8. Empty Seat on Water Management Advisory Committee
David Grasfield reminded the committee that David Mark’s seat on the WMAC remains empty.
9. Other business
Copies of monitoring well graphs showing variations in depths of the water table at numerous locations over the past five years were distributed to the committee.
Len Sekuler asked if the 59,000,000 gallons pumped in May is comparable to prior years. Paul Lauenstein produced a graph indicating that 59,000,000 gallons is not a record high for May.
David Grasfield said the High School library is available for town committee meetings in the event the downstairs meeting room at Town Hall is unavailable.
10. Schedule the next meeting for Thursday, July 1 at 7:30 PM
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