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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCapital Improvements 01/27/1994CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS COMMITTEE MINUTES JANUARY 27, 1994 PRESENT: David McCarter, Dianne Marydee Flynn, Michael Ralph Penney 1� f Royle, Lawrence Carpenter, �SfijJ McClanahan, Philip Smith, S William F. Williams, Town Manager Shaun P. Burke, Director of Planning and Development Robert Swanson, Town Engineer David Archard, Assistant Town Engineer Paul Howard, Tata and Howard Greg Roy, Camp, Dresser and McKee James Small, Camp, Dresser and McKee 1. Meeting called to order at 7:15 P.M. 2. Water Projects - Ash Property Bob Swanson explained the Ash Property was purchased by debt exclusion in 1989. Prolonged pump tests show it has outstanding capacity and could be the town's biggest producing well. Mr. Swanson went on to say that tests also show it has a high level of iron, which will require a filtration system. A green sand filter would be needed and would cost $1.2 million. $750,000 had already been approved at Town Meeting, which would cover the design and construction of the well, but not the filter. Mr. Swanson requested the CIP think about supporting the filter system and the logical outgrowth of a Town Meeting vote to acquire and develop the Ash Property. Mr. Swanson said the need to develop the well now is very clear as a result of very high water demand last summer. Paul Howard explained the current pumping capacity, results of increased water demand and safe daily yield of the existing wells. Mr. Howard said the maximum daily demand was 5.06 million gallons last summer. Mr. Howard also cited a recent report that make the assumption 25% of all water used is lost/not accounted for. Mr. Howard stated the increased demand resulted in 24-hour per day pumping at town wells during the past summer, and resulted in a dramatic draw down of the well and deteriorating water quality. Mr. Howard said future water quality regulations governing effect of pumping at the Ash Property on the surface water, specifically Wading River, is unknown at the time. The result is a potential future need for a disinfection chamber and cost to design and construct same. Mr. Swanson explained the prolonged pump test for the Ash site has been conducted at a cost of $115,000 and is good for five years. Mr. Howard estimated there will be 40-50 wells in this well field, which could produce up to 1.5 million gallons of water per day. Mrs. Royle said it appears there is no alternative at this point other than bringing the Ash Property on line, since there are no other readily available sites. Mr. McClanahan asked about the Dustin wells. Mr. Archard explained they are only used in emergency situations, and Mr. Howard added that the cost of filtration for the Dustin wells would be about $1.5 million. Mr. Williams asked what the maximum safe yield of the Ash Property would be. Mr. Howard responded it would be approximately 1,030 million gallons per day. Mr. McClanahan asked if pumping at the Witch Pond wells would effect the Ash Property and was told by Mr. Howard it wouldn't. Mrs. Flynn asked if money was being requested for Dustin and what the total cost of the Ash Property would be. Mr. Swanson responded that it would be $2.075 million, including funds already allocated, and would take two years to bring on line. No money is being requested for Dustin Well at this time. Mr. McCarter asked when Mansfield would reach maximum capacity with the wells currently on line. Mr. Howard said the town is very close to that now, with 2.49 million gallons per day; The town possesses DEP permits for pumping up to 2.52 million gallons per day. Mr. Smith asked if DEP acts only on information given to it by the town when evaluating emergency situations. Mr. Howard said DEP requires extensive documentation. Mrs. Flynn asked how long the Dustin wells were on line during the past summer. Mr. Archard explained it was about two months, from the beginning of July to the beginning of September. Mr. Williams told the committee that with a change to a water enterprise account. The Water Department could build up reserve capital, a rate increase could be avoided when making improvements to the system. Mr. Smith said there are ways to eliminate a spike in water rates and ways to front end load the cost of capital improvements that result in progressively lower cost. Mr. Swanson estimated that this request will result in about a $200,000 per year debt, the rate increase would be 15% from the current rate. Mr. Penney asked if anyone had ever calculated the actual cost of a cubic foot of water and if the green sand filtration was the best available technology. Mr. Swanson explained the water cost is based on the budget and billing units. Mr. Swanson also stated the filter appears to be best available technology for this application. Mr. Penney asked if all the town's wells will need to be filtered at the same point. Mr. Howard said that all things being equal, not all wells will need filters. Some, like Cate Spring, produce very high quality water. Mr. Archard estimated the useful life of a well to be 25- 30 years. Mrs. Royle asked if any other wells, such as Dustin, i, would be abandoned after the Ash property is brought on line. Mr. Howard told her that Dustin's safe yield is .86 million gallons per day and he would not recommend abandoning a well with a pumping supply of that magnitude. Mr. Penney inquired about the Zone II of the Ash Property overlapping the City of Attleboro water supply and about the type of pump to be used. Mr. Howard said the well would be on a manifold system with just one pump. The wells are shallow, approximately 12 to 15 feet deep. Mr. Swanson added that Attleboro has not conducted a Zone II at the Balcom Street site. Fluoridation Mr. Swanson explained that the state has designated a fluoride injection system, with 100% state grant funding available. Mrs. Flynn expressed concern that the fluoride program may require close scrutiny and extensive maintenance of the injection system and asked if the state grant would cover that as well. Mr. Howard said if the town goes ahead with the fluoridation before the grant is available, there will be no reimbursement, and maintenance cost would be the responsibility of the Town. 3. Sewer Department Two consultants from Camp, Dresser and McKee, Greg Roy and James Small, joined the meeting. Mr. Swanson explained that an extensive study of inflow/infiltration had been done, which found ground water and illegally pumped water entering into the sewer system. CDM has provided the town with a list of projects that demonstrate locations that need to be repaired, at a cost of $267,000. That cost would represent an approximately 7% increase in rates. A bond could be stretched over 5 years at $70,000 per year or over 10 years at $40,000 per year. Mr. Swanson added that the two questions to be decided are whether to expand the waste water treatment plant or to reduce the inflow/infiltration level. Mr. Carpenter asked if a large number of illegal tie-ins had been found. Mr. Small responded that approximately 60 illegal tie-ins had been found. Mr. Swanson said Norton and Foxboro are charged for their total flow infiltration, and thus pay for ground water that infiltrates the system, but Mansfield bears the cost of treating groundwater from Inflow and Norton and Mansfield to conduct their own. Mr. Williams questioned the town's ability to require Inflow and Infiltration studies and projects. Mr. Small said it could be dealt with through an amendment to the intermunicipal agreement. Mr. Carpenter asked how long it would be before the plant needs expansion. Mr. Swanson explained the plant has a capacity for 3.5 million gallons per day, and is currently operating at 2 million gallons per day so expansion is not a need at this time. Mr. Smith asked if this capital expenditure would reduce the sewer budget. Mr. Swanson said some -savings may be realized, but until everything is on line and working, he couldn't say how much the savings would be. Mr. Small added if the flow is decreased, the cost will be also, because the cost of purchasing chemicals and similar items will decrease to some extent. Mr. Swanson requested $125,000 within the budget for KOH conversion for the Prescott Wells, which would not require an increase in rates. 4. Adjournment Adjournment at 8:55 P.M. Date of next meeting: February 3, 1994 7:00 P.M.