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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-03-26 Water and Sewer Advisory Committee MinutesWATER & SEWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MARCH 26, 1998 p e A meeting of the Water & Sewer Advisory Committee was held at 7:45 P.M. on Thursday March 26, 1998 in the Berger Room, Reading Town Hall, 16 Lowell St., Reading, MA. In attendance were Chairman Gail Wood, Secretary Stewart Chipman, Committee member Richard Moore, DPW Business Supervisor David Lee, and DPW Director Ted McIntire. Meeting Minutes It was moved by Richard Moore, seconded by Gail Wood and approved by a vote of 2-0- 1 (Chipman abstaining) to accept the minutes of February 19, 1998 as written. FY99 Water and Sewer Rate Hearin Secretary Stewart Chipman read the hearing notice. Dave Lee reviewed the rate calculation packages for water and sewer and usage over the last ten years. The projected rates reflect the water and sewer budgets as approved to date including the MWRA projected assessment which reflects an increase of approximately $13,000.00 over FY98. It was moved by Stewart Chipman, seconded by Richard Moore and approved by a vote of 3-0 to close the hearing. It was moved by Stewart Chipman, seconded by Richard Moore and approved by a vote of 3-0 to recommend an FY99 sewer rate of $4.98 per one hundred cubic feet affective on the August 1, 1998 billing. It was moved by Stewart Chipman, seconded by Richard Moore and approved by a vote of 3-0 to recommend an FY99 water rate of $3.42 per one hundred cubic feet and a water rate for second water meters at $4.10 per one hundred cubic feet which reflects an additional 20%. Bedrock Wells Gary Smith, Senior Project Manager for D.L. Maher Company and George Perry, Chairman of the Town Forest Committee joined the meeting. Gary reviewed information in his report to the Town of Reading title "Favorable Sites for Ground Water Development, 1998, Town of Reading, Massachusetts". Potential sites were identified using aerial photographs from as far away as satellites to low altitude photography. The engineer looks for zones of structural weakness formed millions of years ago which could be 15 or more miles in length. Withdrawal from a bedrock well is spread over a great distance so there is less impact on surface water as would occur on a gravel packed well. Depths of bedrock wells vary from 200 to 600 feet or more. The next step is to prioritize locations, identify property owners, walk the sites and set a stake for the actual location to be drilled. Access to sites will have to be evaluated and a filing to the Conservation Commission. Initially a six inch diameter test well will have to be drilled to a depth of approximately 500 feet and a temporary submersible pump installed to determine the capacity of the well. Water samples must be obtained to evaluate raw water quality. In the Town of Lynnfield the water quality in the bedrock wells was good enough to pump directly into the distribution with only the use of chlorine for disinfection. The actual drilling of a production well will require the use of a 36 ton drilling rig and will probably require the use of 8' by 12' mats. Tailings from the drillings will be discharged to a containment area as to minimize the impact on the area. Mr. Smith reviewed the potential sites for a bedrock well, and felt that site 1C in figure 2 and sites B,C,D, and E in figure 3 appear to be good possibilities. Figure 2 identifies sites within the well fields/Town Forest area and figure 3 identifies sites in the Bear Meadow/Cedar Swamp areas. Cost for development for bedrock wells could be upwards of $600,000.00, depending what is required for treatment. The development of bedrock wells can also be done in phases. Gary Smith and Peter Tassi will first walk the sites, prioritize locations and actually stake the recommended locations. Boards and committees will then be invited for a site visit. The Committee requested that Ted identify the process necessary to develop this type of well. Richard Moore left the meeting. Spill Site/Well Field Under the direction of D.E.P., an eight week pump test of Reading's production wells #13, 915, #66-8 has been completed. Based on the results of quality sampling and testing of various monitoring wells in the spill site, D.E.P. has given the Town permission to operate the wells in that area on a normal basis. Water Restrictions Ted McIntire recommended that water restrictions be reduce from a Stage II to a revised Stage I and requests that outdoor water use be limited to odd/even usage but that there be no hour restrictions during the day. There is still a concern with the spill site, levels of contamination in the monitoring wells have consistently measured below drinking water standards for some time, with the exception of one monitoring well sampled in August and early September 1997. It was moved by Stewart Chipman, seconded by Gail Wood and approved by a vote of 2- 0 to recommend to the Board of Selectmen that the water restrictions be moved to a Stage I voluntary water restrictions with odd/even usage and no restriction on hours of use each day. Water Tower Rental There is an article on the Annual Town Warrant requesting the use of income from rental of space on water towers by communications companies to be used for neighborhood improvements throughout the Town. Following discussion, it was moved by Gail Wood, seconded by Stewart Chipman to support the article on the Town Meeting Warrant. The motion lost by a vote of 0-2. The Committee feels that the rate payers should benefit from income generated by the use of the water tower. Gail Wood will write a letter to the Board of Selectmen, and copies will be sent to advisory committee members. Water/Sewer Bills It was moved by Gail Wood, seconded by Stewart Chipman and approved by a vote of 2- 0 to set the minimum water and sewer bills based on usage 300 cubic feet. The Committee felt that this more reflected the actual cost to process a monthly bill. FY98 Budget Ted noted that projections for expenditures to the end of FY98 showed an under funding of $14,500.00 for personal services in the Sewer Division. The overtime for checking sewer stations on weekends and holidays has been under funded plus retirement of Supervisor William Winkler has necessitated the payment of buy back sick leave. It was moved by Stewart Chipman, seconded by Gail Wood and approved by a vote of 2- 0 to recommend that the FY98 sewer budget be increased by $14,500.00, monies to be transferred from the Sewer Reserve/Emergency Fund. Future Agendas Gail recommended that the Water and Sewer Advisory Committee discuss land developments at a future agenda. Stewart Chipman requested the inclusion of a discussion on water and sewer block rates. Water/Sewer Bills The Committee had requested that the rate associated with the MWRA yearly assessment be included on the water and sewer bill. It was recommend by the Finance Department that the charge be identified in the information box located on the water and sewer bill. It was moved by Gail Wood, seconded by Stewart Chipman and approved by a vote of 2- 0 to include a note identifying the portion of the sewer rate which is related to the MWRA assessment, and that it be included in the August 1St bill on a yearly basis. Items to be included in the next Water and Sewer Advisory Committee meeting on April 14, 1998 are Stabilization Fund, Well Development, and Longwood Poultry Farm. It was moved by Stewart Chipman, seconded by Gail Wood and approved by a vote of 2- 0 to adjourn the meeting at 11:20 PM.