In his Tata & Howard Report to Tuesday’s monthly public meeting of the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission, Jon Gregory reported a December 19 meeting with Koch Separation Solutions at the Mattapoisett Water Treatment Plant to go over the filter-changeover schedule.
“We’ll be operating two systems at the same time,” said Gregory, whose goal is to lay everything out on the table for a last design meeting prior to construction phases.
The meeting will include confirmation of all piping connections, especially as they affect the retrofitting of the new filtering system into the existing plant.
“We’re living in a time where lead times on equipment are very difficult,” said Gregory, noting that the MRV is still waiting on SRF funding.
Citing the goal to push everything out in one bid because there is a certain window of opportunity to do the work during the winter, Gregory said he is proceeding toward a 50% design. Filters must be taken offline while new ones are brought online, and Tata & Howard has reached out to MassDEP to discuss testing during the changeover period.
“They basically said we would have to go ahead and do a permit waiver,” said Gregory, outlining a sequence to submit the plan to DEP, all the while acknowledging potential pitfalls. “We’re going to need to do a shutdown to get the skids online.” DEP will require more information as part of the permitting process.
Retiring engineer Paul Howard said, “We’re really looking at the winter of 2024-25 for the construction to be done.”
“In a normal supply-chain environment, this (timeline) would be less,” said Gregory.
Mattapoisett Town Administrator Mike Lorenco asked if, “for the next two years, do we have concerns for keeping the current (plant as is) operational?”
Howard said the plant is in solid working operation, but he admitted to being nervous because the present filter system has already outlasted its projected useful life by several years.
MRV Chairman Vinnie Furtado was blunt in his assessment.
“In Fairhaven, we have a tremendous concern over here. The filters are failing. Kudos to Henri Renauld and the staff. What was supposed to be seven years became 14 years,” he said. “We get (complaints) all over. It’s embarrassing. We’re not providing unsafe drinking water, but we’re certainly providing unsightly (water.)”
Lorenco said he also receives complaints. “I just want to make sure if we’re going to have this operational for two years … I guess preparing for that would be a good idea,” he said.
Furtado said Fairhaven has received $300,000 in ARPA funding to flush his town’s water.
“We have to be up front with people and let them know. As time’s going on, the calls have become more frequent from the folks who have dirty water somewhere,” said Furtado, noting that voters approved a remedy in Town Meeting in 2022 that is, thanks in part to COVID-related delays, two years away.
Before the Town of Fairhaven agrees to attach a cell-phone antenna to a water tower on Sconticut Neck Road, Furtado insisted the MRV discuss the matter.
“Providing water is the most important thing we do,” he said, noting that cell service is so spotty in the area that the MRV distributes hand-held radios to the staff. Fairhaven would receive a rental fee on a lease.
At Furtado’s request, Rich Feeley and Rossana Ferrante of Network Building were on hand to present to the commission on the cell tower proposal.
Ferrante called it a “due-diligence piece” to stress that Network Building is cognizant of other cellular carriers, be it in a hospital or on a tower. “We work with the other carriers to make sure there isn’t any interference,” she said. “Antennas do not get installed without a lot of consideration.”
While a three-sided monopole is considered the best design option provided adequate space, Feeley noted that Sprint recently built a fiberglass steeple atop a southeastern Massachusetts church that could not afford to rebuild its steeple. The cellular signal goes through the fiberglass.
Furtado, the DPW director for Fairhaven, told the commission that a past proposal was not approved by the town “because of concerns over communication between the water plant and the tower.”
A typical term for lease agreements for cell-phone carriers is 20 years.
Gregory sent the budget out on December 12 for a final look by commission members. The total assessment for FY24 is $2,357,300, a 3.2% increase from FY23.
“We went over these numbers and tried to make it as acceptable as we could to the communities … yeoman’s task by Jon,” said Furtado.
Feedback indicated the MRV may need to increase its reserve fund for next year.
The commission voted to contract Tata & Howard to put together the annual report.
The commission reported $91,700.73 in total invoices for the month.
Tuesday’s meeting of the MRV was meant to be the last for Howard, who was thanked by Furtado, the MRV Water District Commission and Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee for his assistance over the years.
“It’s not often you can get a group of towns that work so harmoniously as this one does. It’s been a pleasure working with you guys,” said Howard, who told both groups he will still be available for consultation. He will remain on the board at Tata & Howard.
The next meeting of the MRV Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at 3:30 pm with the MRV Water District Commission meeting to immediately follow at 4:00 pm on the same Zoom call.
MRV Water District Commission/Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee
By Mick Colageo