HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-05-23 Water and Sewer Advisory Committee MinutesWATER & SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MPI~UTES
May 23, 2001
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A meeting of the Water & Sewer Advisory Committee was held at 7:34 P.M.. on Wednesday,
May 23, 2001, in the Berger Room, Reading Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Ma.
In attendance were Chairman Gail Wood, Secretary William Freeman, Committee member
Robert Salter, Water & Sewer Distribution Supervisor James Richardson and resident Steve
Sliwoski (18 Larch Lane).
Meeting Minutes
it was moved by Bob Salter, seconded by Bill Freeman and approved by a vote of 3-0 to accept
the minutes of April 25, 2001 as written.
It was moved by Bill Freeman, seconded by Bob Salter and approved by a vote of 3-0 to accept
the minutes of April 30, 2001 as written.
FY02 Water and Sewer Rates
Gail Wood reported that the Selectman had accepted the recommendation of the WSAC and had
set the Sewer rate for FY2002 at $5.151100 cubic feet beginning with the August 1'` billing, but
had declined to use the WSAC recommended $70,000 from the Water Emergency/Reserve Fund
to offset the rates and had set the rate for FY 2002 at $3.66/100 cubic feet citing their concern for
the cost of future known water projects and the pending Rate Study report from Russell
Consulting, and preferring to leave money in the Reserve Fund to offset future escalating costs.
Water and Sewer Rate Study
It was reported that the Water & Sewer Rate Study should be ready and distributed around June
8, 2001 and Russell Consulting would be available for discussion at the June WSAC meeting.
Future Agendas
It was suggested that 2 major topics for discussion at a future meeting should be:
1. Bedrock well development
2. the use of the Water Conservation money approved by Town Meeting in the
Capital Plan and part of the FY2002 budget; what it. will be used for; and on a
reimbursement for water saving devices - how publicity will be handled and how
much per appliance will be allowed.
Sewer System Surcharge
Jim Richardson discussed the recent problems with the sewer overflows in the last storm. Bill
Freeman asked where the sewer trunk lines were? Jim described the three points that sewerage
Minutes - WSACMay 23, 2001.doc
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leaves the Town of Reading and stated that the sewer pipes were full at all points. He stated that
the other cities and towns downstream were having the same problem and that Reading is at the
end of the line. In effect, their problems becomes Reading's problem.
The Committee discussed the current Inflow and Infiltration Program. The next step is to make
house to house inspections for illegal connections into the sewer system. Bill Freeman remarked
that the house to house inspections would only find connections that were permanent. Most
connections are hooked up at the time of the storm and they will not be found. Although
Reading should do all they can to prevent the problem the only real solution is for MWRA to
provide more capacity downstream. Steve Sliwoski discussed the problem from a homeowners
point of view. He wanted some guarantee that this would not happen again. The Committee
explained that unfortunately there is no guarantee. The three steps the homeowner can take are
1.) back flow valves, 2.) plugs for the drains and 3.) isolating the sewer connections for fixtures
in the basement level of the home. However each of these has drawbacks. The back flow
valves have to be maintained and cleaned. The plugs have to be installed in anticipation of the
storm event. The isolation can be very expensive.
It was suggested that a warning be included in the next water & sewer bill. Bill Freeman
suggested that a "simple white paper" be developed describing the problem and why it happens.
Also discussed was the fact that sewerage under pressure will find an outlet. As residents start to
tighten up their own system it will either find another house or blow the cover off a manhole.
General
The next meeting of the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee will be on June 20,2001
It was moved by Bob Salter, seconded by Bill Freeman and approved by a vote of 3-0 to adjourn
the meeting at 8:14PM.
Minutes - RNACMay 23, 2001.doc
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