SHARON WATER MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (WMAC) MEETING MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 10, 2005

Prepared by Paul Lauenstein

Present at meeting:

WMAC Chairman Michael Birschbach; WMAC members Paul Lauenstein, Richard Mandell, Mike Sherman, and Jack Sulik; and Sharon DPW Superintendent Eric Hooper

Summary of Minutes for the 11/10/05 WMAC Meeting

1. Approve 10/20/05 minutes with corrections

2. Report of the Water Department

- Monitoring well response to October rain

- Progress with new well sites

- Emergency backup

- Decision matrix

- DEP permit pending

- Water audit program

- Radio meter system procurement

- Capital spending for FY ’06 and rising energy costs

3. Water bill insert

4. Water web site

5. Low flow devices in Community Center

6. Next meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 7:30 PM

Detailed Minutes for the 11/10/05 WMAC Meeting

1. The minutes for 10/20/05 were unanimously approved with minor corrections.

2. Report of the Water Department

Monitoring well response to October rain

Eric Hooper reported that virtually all of the monitoring well graphs showed a marked uptick as a result of October’s record 16” rainfall.

Richard Mandell asked why the graph of the monitoring well named RRtracks-6-96 dipped in early 2001 when all the other Islamic Center monitoring wells surged. Eric Hooper agreed that the graph looked odd, and hypothesized that it was the result of a data entry error.

Richard Mandell also asked what caused the gap in all 9 graphs in the vicinity of the Islamic Center in February, 2004. Eric Hooper said he thought it was the result lack of data at the well sites.

Paul Lauenstein asked why the graph of the monitoring well at the Canton Street site (CantonSt-13-96)rose in the latter half of 2005 while all the other graphs on that page fell. Eric Hooper said it might have to do with the fact that water is so near the surface at that site. He also said that small diameter (7/8”) vibratory wells respond differently from larger diameter percussion wells.

Progress with new well sites

Eric Hooper reported that satellite wells are in at the NSTAR site (Canton St.), adding that pump testing would be conducted the following week. Eric Hooper said the data from the pump test should be available at the December meeting.

Emergency backup

Eric Hooper reported that Watermark is 85% complete with their survey of existing and potential emergency backup from neighboring towns. Eric Hooper added that infrastructure costs based on hydrant tests still remain to be computed.

Decision matrix

Eric Hooper said that of the three remaining viable sites (Canton St., Maskwonicut St., and the Islamic Center), none is ideal. Each has strengths and weaknesses based on water quality, water quantity, permitting, and other factors. The cost per gallon of obtaining water internally will have to be weighed against the cost of importing water from MWRA, and the cost of constructing and operating an Fe/Mn filtration plant to obtain significant quantities of water from Well #6.

Richard Mandell asked how much water can be expected from Well #6 once the Fe/Mn treatment plant is developed. Eric Hooper replied that it should be able to produce 350,000 gallons per day.

Eric Hooper said the long-term water needs of the community should be assessed, and the options for satisfying those needs should be evaluated from a cost-benefit perspective. He said the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has established 65 gallons per capita per day, a 1.2 summer/winter usage ratio, and 10% unaccounted-for water as system performance criteria. Beyond that, peak demand requirements must be taken into account. He suggested that whereas demand management might allow existing supply capacity to meet near-term needs, there will be a 250,000 gallon per day deficit by the year 2020. Various alternative means of satisfying this demand, such as a new well, an Fe/Mn filtration plant at Well#6, or importing water from MWRA, will have to be considered. One factor will be the cost and time required to obtain a permit. In the case of Well #6, a permit is already in place.

Richard Mandell asked if well permits expire if they are not used. Eric Hooper replied that they do not expire as a consequence of disuse.

DEP permit pending

Jack Sulik asked if the DEP has yet issued a new WMA permit for the Town of Sharon. Eric Hooper replied that the draft permit has been appealed. He said the DEP is reviewing its permit policies in light of a lawsuit concerning flow in the Ipswich River, which has delayed Sharon’s permit. He added that Sharon should strive to live within the DEP’s 65 gpcd, 1.2 summer/winter ratio, and 10% unaccounted-for water (UAW) standards.

Paul Lauenstein commented that the DEP seems to be backing away from enforcement of these policies by declining to take any action unless towns exceed 72 gpcd and 15% UAW.

Eric Hooper said it takes time and money to reduce water consumption and unaccounted-for water. He said the DEP’s standards have been Sharon’s goal for some time, and that Sharon is close to meeting them. He questioned the reason for conserving water, saying that there is presently no way to prove or quantify the link between water use and base stream flow.

Michael Birschbach asked if it would be a good idea to evaluate the alternative of supplementing Sharon’s well water with MWRA water.

Eric Hooper said it might be necessary to turn to MWRA in the long run, but the important thing at this stage is to look at the costs and benefits of all the alternatives. He said we should learn from the error that was made with the Islamic Center well: failing to complete the alternatives analysis and prematurely narrowing the evaluation process down to just one option. He said this time around we should carefully evaluate all three remaining well sites under consideration, as well as both emergency and long-term connections to MWRA.

Michael Birschbach reported that Selectman Bill Heitin asked if Sharon will be forced to join MWRA.

Eric Hooper replied that with more management tools such as a new well and an emergency backup connection it might be possible to avoid joining MWRA depending on future demand.

Mike Sherman said future demand will be affected by 40b development that is likely to happen in Sharon, as well as the extent to which Sharon is able to implement water banking that would require developers to reduce water use elsewhere in town in greater amounts than they use.

Paul Lauenstein commented that high water prices in the MWRA service area had caused demand to decrease. He also pointed out that neighboring towns such as Canton and Norwood have recently invested in augmenting local water sources to try to wean themselves away from costly MWRA water.

Eric Hooper said the cost of MWRA water is magnified by sewer charges, which is not the case in Sharon. He said MWRA’s water conservation and leak repair efforts have led to surplus water capacity.

Paul Lauenstein pointed out that even after reducing demand by 1/3 over the past 20 years, 3/4 of the sustainable yield of the Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs is still diverted for human use, leaving only 1/4 to sustain the ecological health and recreational value of the Swift and Nashua Rivers.

Richard Mandell asked what is happening with negotiations for the well at the cemetery.

Eric Hooper said negotiations are ongoing, adding that the cemetery wells are unregistered and unpermitted by DEP.

Water audit program

Paul Lauenstein asked what is happening with the water audit program.

Eric Hooper replied that the contract was signed too late for addressing lawn irrigation last summer, so the water audit program has been placed on hold until next spring.

Paul Lauenstein pointed out that about 20% of the $15,500 water audit budget had been intended for commercial or municipal water audits, and that those could be done at any time of year. He added that a recent newspaper article reported that the new IKEA store in Stoughton had installed waterless urinals.

Richard Mandell cautioned that students might attempt to interfere with plumbing fixtures, so expensive new waterless urinals might not be prudent.

Radio meter system procurement

Eric Hooper reported that he and three other employees of the Water Department planned to attend a presentation by Mass Installation, Inc. regarding fixed network radio meter reading systems on Monday, November 14 at Gillette Stadium.

Eric Hooper also reported that Easton-Winn Water offered to install a 6-unit pilot of a drive-by meter reading system. He said that the intent of the RFP is to institute a trial period during which all vendors would have an opportunity to provide Sharon with pilot installations for evaluation purposes. He added that all pilot installations would be required to have all components located within Sharon.

Michael Birschbach reported that he has still not received official confirmation that the WMAC would constitute the review panel for evaluating radio meter systems.

Eric Hooper said his understanding is that the Selectmen want the review panel to include an independent outside citizen to participate in the evaluation process.

Capital spending for FY ’06 and rising energy costs

Eric Hooper reported that the Selectmen negotiated a new 5-year contract for electricity used by town facilities, including the pumps at the six town wells, that will take effect next fall. He said the new rate of 10¢ per kilowatt-hour is 2.5 times higher than the old rate of 4¢ per kilowatt-hour, and will drive up energy costs associated with pumping well water fro $90,000 per year to around $225,000. He said this would compromise the Water Department’s ability to finance capital projects internally without raising prices or borrowing.

Mike Sherman asked if an analysis had been done to see if more efficient pumps would be cost-effective.

Paul Lauenstein commented that higher energy costs would make the cost of leaks higher, increasing the need to find and fix leaks in a timely fashion.

Eric Hooper said his top priorities are a new well and/or a connection to MWRA for supplementary water. His third priority is completing the Fe/Mn filtration plant associated with Well #6. He added that it is a question of timing.

Richard Mandell proposed delaying procurement of the radio meter system as a way of conserving capital given the increase in energy costs.

Eric Hooper replied that a radio meter system is needed to increase billing frequency to a quarterly schedule. He said that a radio meter system would be helpful in monitoring unaccounted-for water (UAW) to detect leaks. He added that it might take five years to install a radio meter system using Water Department employees, and the project has already been delayed.

Michael Birschbach said it may be time to raise water rates.

Paul Lauenstein asked how long it has been since water rates in Sharon were reviewed.

Jack Sulik said rates were last updated in 2000. He added that unlike taxes, one’s water bill is controllable by conserving water.

Eric Hooper suggested deferring construction of the Fe/Mn filtration plant at Well #6 to delay capital spending in response to the increase in energy cost.

Jack Sulik said he would prefer to delay replacement of cast iron pipe in the center of town rather than delaying the Fe/Mn filtration plant at Well #6. He said the highest priority should be placed on augmenting Sharon’s supply of good quality water.

Paul Lauenstein agreed with Jack Sulik that the Fe/Mn filtration project should have a higher priority than pipe replacement in the center of town.

Eric Hooper said Jack Sulik had made a good point, and added that it might be possible to get a developer to pay the cost of replacing the old cast iron pipe on Glenview and Glendale Streets.

Paul Lauenstein asked if the Fe/Mn filtration plant for Well #6 would cost in the neighborhood of $750,000.

Eric Hooper replied that an Fe/Mn filtration plant big enough to treat the combined water from Well #6 and a new well at the Islamic Center would cost more like $2,000,000.

Richard Mandell asked how much a new well would cost to permit and construct.

Eric Hooper replied that it would cost hundreds of thousands to obtain a permit and around $1.5 million to physically construct the well.

Michael Birschbach asked if it would be necessary to borrow to pay for a new well.

Eric Hooper answered that borrowing would be necessary.

3. Water Bill Insert

Paul Lauenstein circulated copies of a water bill insert entitled “Secrets of a Waterless Lawn” for insertion into the water bills beginning in January of 2006.

Eric Hooper suggested that overseeding might be a more economical and effective strategy than applying milky spore to combat grubs.

Paul Lauenstein agreed to add the concept of overseeding into the insert. He added that the overarching objective is to discourage use of pesticides by providing homeowners with alternative strategies for grub control. He reported that his own personal experience with milky spore was that one application controlled grubs for years without resorting to toxic pesticides that kill earthworms and jeopardize the town’s drinking water aquifers.

Richard Mandell recalled that when the High School was renovated, pesticides had been used on playing fields with notification to parents, causing a public outcry.

Eric Hooper commented that no rebates have yet been issued for High Efficiency Toilets (HET’s) that use only 1.28 gallons per flush or less. He added that a total of 177 washing machine rebates have been issued since inception of the program (44 so far in FY ’06).

Paul Lauenstein reported that he is in the process of negotiating for HET’s for his own home with an eye to finding one or more vendors who would set up a special program for other Sharon residents who want to replace inefficient toilets with HET’s.

MOTION

Richard Mandell moved to recommend insertion of a flyer, entitled “Secrets of a Waterless Lawn,” with the changes discussed, into every Sharon water bill from January, 2006 through June, 2006.

The motion passed unanimously.

4. Water web site

Mike Sherman asked for a progress update on the water web site.

Eric Hooper reported that Town Counsel Gelerman had reviewed and approved the form of the contract. He said that the web site created by the vendor should be compatible with the Town of Sharon’s web site, and that issue must be resolved before the Selectmen agree to sign a contract.

Eric Hooper said once the contract is signed he would provide trial plots of nitrates and groundwater levels to test for compatibility with the web site. He added that SCADA data cannot be exported in Excel format, and that the SCADA software should be upgraded since it is six years old. An upgrade might come with Excel compatibility.

Mike Sherman said the state is requiring that the software they purchase be “open document” to allow more compatibility.

5. Low flow devices in Community Center

Paul Lauenstein asked what kind of toilets are being installed as part of the $9 million community center renovation. He said it is a great opportunity to provide residents with examples of different brands of High Efficiency Toilets that are eligible for rebates. He also suggested that waterless urinals like the ones installed at the new IKEA store in Stoughton should be installed to save water.

Eric Hooper said that remains to be determined.

6. Next meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 15, 2005 at 7:30 PM