Category Archives: Water & Sewer

Water ban = odd even

water towers at MSH

Photo by Richard DeSorgher

Medfield Press article on the current water ban and high usage.  The state triggers the water ban, which the town is required to declare, and the town is also required to enforce it.

Mike Sullivan told me this week that Ken had told him that the water levels in the Mt. Nebo water tower went down 17′ in one day, and that it is especially problematic as the town is currently trying to fill up the new Medfield State Hospital water tower.  The town has been lucky not to have had an emergency water need, such as for a large fire, while we were on only one water tower, as we could have run short.


Medfield water ban in effect until October

Water ban in full effect until October

Posted Jun. 28, 2016 at 3:39 PM

MEDFIELD

Department of Public Works Director Ken Feeney said Medfield is under a water ban from June 15 until October in an effort to combat what he called a “crisis level for water.”

He said the water ban will limit homeowners to watering their lawns every other evening, with no watering at all from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Even numbered houses will be able to water their lawns on even numbered days, and odd numbered houses will be able to water on odd numbered days outside the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ban.

Feeney said the town is in a dry spell right now, with June usually being a tough month because schools are getting out for the year and families are not on vacation yet. He said this creates greater water consumption at home. He said the town usually pumps about 900,000 gallons a day for water in the winter, but is currently pumping 120,000 gallons an hour at 20 hours a day – almost three million gallons a day, Feeney said. He said the water tower was down to 72 feet full, while the town tries to keep it at 90 to 98 feet full.

“We are using to many gallons a day on lawns,” he said. “Every small town with water wells has a hard time this time of year.”

It has been hard getting residents to follow the ban, he said. There is a warning, then a $50 fine if residents don’t comply. The third step is a $100 fine and the final step is shutting off someone’s water. The fines can be issued by the town or police.

Watch the ribbon cutting

solar at WWTP

See and hear the ceremony preceding the ribbon cutting for the  solar PV at the Waste Water Treatment Plant

 Solar_Ribbon_Cutting_Video_04-28-16.mov

Medfield’s 1st solar PV

solar at WWTP

Representative Shawn Dooley reads a Proclamation from the Legislature, with Mike Sullivan, Jeremy Marsette, Mark Fisher and my better half (I barely made the photo) looking on.

Medfield First Solar PV Array opened at the Waste Water Treatment Plant on 4/28/16

The new 237 KW solar PV array at the Waste Water Treatment Plant went online after a ribbon cutting yesterday.  This opening was the combined achievement of Energy Committee member Fred Davis obtained a $12,500 state DOER grant for the town in 2014 that allowed the Committee to study solar options in three town locations, the Waste Water Treatment Plant Operator, Bob McDonald, getting a $180,000 state grant for almost half the construction costs, and the Energy Committee pushing the project forward to completion via eh efforts of its staff person, Facilities Manager, Andrew Seaman.

It is actually a hugely instructive lesson in how important a paid town staff person is to a volunteer town committee, as this whole process did not really take off until Andrew was hired and began to staff the Energy Committee and its meetings.

Adam Stuhlman wrote a good article for the Medfield Press – click at

http://medfield.wickedlocal.com/article/20160428/NEWS/160425550/?Start=1

Image

Solar PV ribbon cutting

20160419-Medfield Solar Ribbon Cutting

BoS agenda for 1/26

cropped-medfield-town-house1.jpg
Tuesday January 26, 2016 @ 7:00 PM

AGENDA (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

7:00 PM  EPA Stormwater Permit Workshop, conducted by
Ian Cooke, Executive Director, and Sarah Bounty I Neponset River Watershed Association;  Martin  Pillsbury, MAPC

The goal of this workshop is to raise awareness of the new requirements for the MS4 permit, answer questions and concerns Medfield may have about stormwater issues

At the end of this meeting the Board of Selectmen will vote to close the 2016 Annual Town Meeting Warrant


EPA Stormwater Permit Works op for Town of Medfield
AGENDA

Goal: Raise awareness of the new MS4 permit among key board members who will be affected, but who may not deal with MS4 issues on a day to day basis. Encourage inter-board/department discussion on  key issues.

3 min             Ian Cooke: Welcome and introductions, overview of agenda

10 min           Sarah Bounty: Overview of the Stormwater Challenge in Medfield
• Stormwater basics
•  Medfield’s stormwater infrastructure
• Water quality and impaired waters in Medfield

16 min             Ian Cooke: Overview of Requirements in the New Draft MS4 Permit
• Overview
•  Six minimum control measures, TMDLs and reporting requirements
• Potential implementation costs

8 min                Martin Pillsbury: Progress to date
• Overview of work already done by Medfield and regional partners
• Review key tasks completed to date

35 min                Discussion Questions
• What will the biggest impact on your department be?
• How should various departments coordinate their efforts?
• What new resources will be needed?
• Is outside help is needed (i.e training,analysis or implementation)?
• Where could joint efforts by multiple towns help?
•  What is the best way to fund any increased costs?

5 min               Next Steps and
Evaluation/Suggestion Forms

Solar PV at WWTP

WWTP solar

This is a photo from Facilities Manager, Andrew Seaman, of the new solar array going in behind the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP), and going in fast.  It is scheduled to be operational in January.  This is the installation that will be revenue positive and make the town money from day one.  THE electricity generated will supply about 40% of the WWTP’s electric needs.

WWTP solar-2

Solar PV at WWTP

solar pv

This from the Medfield Press –


 

Construction on the 237kW solar photovoltaic array at Medfield’s Wastewater Treatment Plant began on Nov. 27. The general contractor, Greenskies Renewables LLC of Middletown, Connecticut, was awarded the contract in the amount of $492,483. Funding for this project was approved at the Special Town Meeting in March. After accounting for the planning and design costs, and receipt of the $180,000 state grant, the Town’s share will be approximately $360,000. The projected completion date is February 2016.

The array will consist of 765 panels, each rated at 310W mounted on top of a fixed tilt rack system. In the first year of operation, the panels will produce an estimated annual output of 299,600 kWh, or 40 percent of the total 750,000 kWh needed to run the plant. This will lower the operating costs of the plant by $48,000 per year and also generate annual income of an estimated $68,000 from the sale of Solar Renewable Energy Credits.

Water main under Hospital Rd. RR

The new water main running from the town’s well #6 along the Charles River by Rte. 27 to the new water tower at the former MSH site has been held up in its completion while the town and its contractor waited, and waited, and waited to be scheduled to lay the water main under the railroad tracks that cross Hospital Road.  It finally happened this past weekend (after the MBTA bought that RR line and the town no longer had to  deal with CSX), and the town’s consulting engineer sent out the email and photos below.


Long day but Oliviera Construction did a good job. The 42″ casing …a 40 foot long section…is in as shown in the photographs and the excavation is now backfilled with 7 truck loads of specified flowable fill (similiar to a concrete mix but it sets up hard and is removable by an excavator). The local concrete supplier was late with his delivery of the last 4 truck loads.

Saturday and Sunday will be work by the railroad’s  contractor to continue the rail subbase preparation.
They will place crushed stone on top of the flowable fill and then install the precast concrete rail sleeper supports. The new section …100 feet or so of new rail is scheduled to be installed on Sunday.

Regards,
Paul
Paul C. Millett, P.E.
Project Manager
Environmental Partners Group, Inc.

RR crossing-1 RR crossing-2 RR crossing-3 RR crossing-4 RR crossing-5 RR crossing-6 RR crossing-7

Solar PV begun at WWTP

The construction of the town’s solar photovoltaic installation at the Waste Water Treatment Plant began today.  This email below about it this afternoon –solar pv


 

I am pleased to announce that site work has started this morning.  Local contractor Angelo Santucci Landscaping has begun clearing the site of vegetation.  Tree removal will begin next week along with grading and seeding.  If all goes well and the weather cooperates, they expect to be done by the end of next week.

As of now the structural post installation will begin November 23, with panel installation to begin early-mid December.  We are still on schedule for system start-up in mid-January.

I’ll keep you all updated on the progress!

Regards,

Andrew Seaman

Energy and Facilities Manager

Town of Medfield

Aerials of new water tower

DCIM102GOPRO

DCIM102GOPRO

Alec Stevens takes pictures with a drone (click here to see all of them), and shared these of the former MSH site, showing both the new water tower and what DCAMM is calling the Medfield Charles River Gateway (the former C&D dump area along the Charles River).

Now we know that our water tower is only painted on one side – which is interesting, because I noticed that when the state repainted the old water tower about six years ago, that they repainted it both inside and out.

The Medfield Charles River Gateway is the subject of an opening celebration that has been scheduled for 10:30 AM on Friday, October 30 at the site, which will be attended by the new DCAMM Commissioner.

I am told that the former DCAMM Commissioner, Carole Cornelison, who engineered the much better clean up of the C&D area for the town on behalf of the Commonwealth is now the Commissioner for DCAM for the State of RI.