WMAC Minutes of December 11, 2008
Members in attendance: David Crosby, Chairman; Len Sekuler; Robert Weeks; Jack Sulik; Paul Lauenstein; David Hearne
Others: Eric Hooper, DPW Superintendant; Jeff Hershberger, ESS Group; Nancy Hammett, independent consultant; Nancy Fyler, NepRWA
1. Minutes of November 13, 2008
The minutes of November 13, 2008 were unanimously approved as written.
2. Capital Outlay Committee
David Hearne inquired if the Water Department, as an enterprise fund, requires the approval of the Capital Outlay Committee to make capital expenditures. Eric Hooper replied that the approval of the Capital Outlay Committee is only required if borrowing is involved. Unlike other town departments, which rely on tax revenues to fund operations, the Water Department, which issues water bills, may bank surplus revenues for future capital requirements.
3. Review of possible new well sites
Jeff Hershberger of ESS Group provided committee members with a written review of six potential well sites:
Blair Circle
Old Post Road (a.k.a. the Gobbi site)
Chase Drive (a.k.a. the Islamic Center site)
MBTA site (near Maskwonicut St.)
NSTAR site (Canton St.)
Sharon Memorial Park (existing irrigation wells of the cemetery)
Mr. Hershberger said the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) site screening analysis exercise had been performed for each of these sites. He said the Blair Circle site had been rejected due to shallow bedrock. The Old Post Road site had limited capacity due to the relatively small catchment area. The impact of well pumping on adjacent wetlands made the Chase Drive site problematic.
Mr. Hershberger's report included a spreadsheet showing pros and cons of the remaining three sites (MBTA, NSTAR and Sharon Memorial Park). The spreadsheet indicated that each site has drawbacks.
Paul Lauenstein suggested adding a "next steps" category to the spreadsheet, including the approximate costs of those steps for each of the three sites, to aid the decision-making process.
Jack Sulik proposed that the Chase Drive site be included with the other three "finalists" in the next draft of the well site analysis.
4. Water Conservation Plan update
Nancy Hammett handed out an update entitled Conservation Goals and Recommended Plan. She proposed development of conservation goals based on a revised demand forecast, regulatory requirements and environmental constraints. She said that she was planning to meet with Eric Hooper and Nancy Fyler on Thursday, December 18, to discuss the specifics of the conservation goals.
Ms. Hammett presented population projections from several sources, as well as a graph showing three projections of population over the next two decades: high, low and best estimate. She then presented projections of business growth in Sharon. Based on a set of assumptions for per capita residential water use, business use, municipal use, and unaccounted-for water (UAW), she then presented a graph showing three water demand forecast scenarios through 2030 (high, low and best estimate). Only the highest forecast, which assumes maximum population growth and average residential per capita water use of 70 gallons per day, exceeded Sharon's current Water Management Act (WMA) withdrawal permit limit of 667.9 million gallons per year.
Ms. Hammett cautioned that Sharon must apply for a new 20-year WMA permit in November, 2009. She said that sustainable yield methodologies currently under review, if adopted, could lead to a reduction in Sharon's permit when it expires in February, 2010 or at any of the 5-year reviews conducted by DEP during the next 20-year permit period. She added that Sharon's current lawn watering restrictions meet DEP requirements as long as Sharon's residential water use remains below 65 rgpcd, and streams that are affected by Sharon's water withdrawals are not currently classified as "high stress," although that could change in the future.
Eric Hooper commented that if DEP attempts to reduce Sharon's withdrawal permit, a lawsuit would ensue.
Ms. Hammett proposed three progressively more aggressive conservation goals:
1. Consistently meet or exceed state water conservation standards of 65 rgpcd, 10% UAW and a 10% reduction in non-residential water use.
2. Accommodate new development while withdrawing no more than 85% of Sharon's WMA permit.
3. Accommodate new growth without increasing current water usage.
Ms. Hammett then presented an analysis of what kind of water use efficiency would have to be achieved to meet each of these three goals. She pointed out that Sharon is already meeting the first goal, since residential water use is already in the vicinity of 65 rgpcd, UAW is already in the 10% range, and non-residential water use is a very small proportion of Sharon's total water use.
Ms. Hammett's calculations showed that a very modest improvement in water use efficiency (an 8.3% reduction over the next 20 years) could lead to attainment of the second goal.
An improvement in water use efficiency of 19.3% by 2030 would be needed to meet the third goal of accommodating new development without increasing town-wide water use. Ms. Hammett then presented a strategy for accommodating new development without increasing water usage by disproportionately reducing the large amounts of water used by heavy water users and improving town-wide water use efficiency to the highest efficiency level presented in the state water conservation standards.
Ms. Hammett passed out copies of an overview of the proposed Water Conservation Plan, and encouraged WMAC members to read it and comment.
5. Water Department report
Eric Hooper reported that the master meter calibration had just been completed for the meters on the town's six municipal wells, and the meters were substantially accurate (within 1%).
Nitrates levels are steady.
The meeting with the Norwood Water Department to discuss an emergency backup connection was cancelled. Stoughton continues to decline to negotiate an emergency backup connection with Sharon, and MWRA will not intercede with Stoughton on Sharon's behalf.
David Hearne asked how much water Sharon could obtain if hydrant-to-hydrant water transfer from neighboring towns were attempted in an emergency. Eric Hooper replied that hydrant-to-hydrant water transfer could meet Sharon's needs in a short term emergency, but not for an intermediate term emergency such as might occur if contamination of an aquifer led to shutdown of multiple wells. If Sharon becomes chronically short of water (due to an increase in demand, or long-term contamination of an aquifer, for example) then supplemental water from MWRA via a dedicated water main might be needed.
Eric Hooper reported that radio meter installation is progressing rapidly. Approximately 3,300 radio meters have been installed so far.
6. Capital budget for FY 2010
Eric Hooper reported that his draft Water Department budget for FY 2010 calls for total expenditure of $2,839,000, which includes $862,960 for capital projects.
David Hearne requested that the capital budget be broken out with line items for each project. Eric Hooper replied that his draft memo entitled, “Proposed Schedule of FY’10 Water Department Capital Projects,” circulated via email to WMAC members, itemizes budgeted capital spending for 2009 and 2010. David Hearne said that he would like to see a statement of budgeted versus actual capital spending for recent years.
Paul Lauenstein proposed that funding for the position of Water Conservation Coordinator be included in the FY 2010 budget. He commented that Sharon’s current Water Conservation Coordinator, Nancy Fyler, has been remarkably effective, and it is generally less expensive to conserve water than to increase water supplies. Eric Hooper said that he would consider it.
Paul Lauenstein proposed including funds in the FY 2010 budget for a pilot rain garden project to enhance filtration of stormwater and recharge of groundwater aquifers. Jack Sulik said Sharon’s aquifers are sufficient to meet the town’s needs, and he did not think it necessary to spend money to enhance recharge of stormwater.
7. Lawn irrigation
Len Sekuler reported that Nancy Fyler, Paul Lauenstein and he had met to discuss policies to better manage lawn irrigation systems in Sharon. They proposed an annual certification system modeled after Holliston’s, as described in an email circulated to WMAC members. Jack Sulik said an annual recertification system would be too cumbersome for the Water Department to administer, suggesting instead that once every three years would be enough to ensure adequate efficiency of the town’s automatic irrigation systems. The hour being late, it was agreed to take up this issue again at a future WMAC meeting.
8. Next meeting: Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sharon Community Center, Meeting Room 23.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Lauenstein