Mattapoisett Water and Sewer Department Superintendent Henri Renauld has been largely assured that insurance will cover damage that the Water Treatment Plant sustained on August 8 when an EF-1 tornado ripped through a section of town north of Route 195.
In his report to the Mattapoisett River Valley Water District Commission on Tuesday, Renauld said he had spoken with two or three vendors, gone through the prescribed steps and anticipates repair work to the area of trees, along with a fence and the rooftop. Having examined damage to electrical transfer switches, Renauld estimates between $60,000 and $80,000 of work.
“(The insurance company) is 90% sure they’ll cover it, but they need to see the smoking gun,” said Renauld, noting that three visits have been made with the electric company to assess the situation. “Is there a 10% chance they won’t (cover the damage)? Yes. Can we leave it the way it is? No, we can’t. I would like to move forward with this one; the electrical company is confident they’re going to find the problem. … The problem is … they need to get in behind and pull it out and see what’s broken.”
Preliminary conclusions are certain among all stakeholders, but the insurance company needs to see the broken electrical component. The transfer switch, Renauld said, “took a beating” during the tornado. He said the switch is failing and will fail. Without repair, he said, it will fail to supply water during a storm event.
Eversource would need to be present, and an individual would need to stand by and run the plant; a company, said Renauld, would be brought in to do the repair work.
“They’re going to come out with a broken piece, I know they are, and insurance is going to cover everything, they told me they are,” said Renauld.
Only recently was clearing accomplished that makes that access possible, and Renauld said repair will immediately take place pending the availability of parts.
The MRV District Commission voted to spend the money to complete its investigation of the electrical issues at the plant.
So far, the MRV has received approximately $74,000 in insurance coverage for tornado damage with a $1,000 deductible.
In the Treasurer’s report, Renauld reported invoices totaling $102,091.70, including billing exceeding $12,000 (chemicals), $16,000 (solar) and quarterly charge from the Town of Mattapoisett ($48,983.)
Jeff Furtado reported September balances on the MRV’s vendor account at $20,154.57, and the commission’s savings account at $345,033.91. Both had slightly increased over amounts from three months prior.
The commission’s upcoming district budget to be produced by Budget Subcommittee members Renauld, Furtado brothers Vinnie and Jeff and Meghan Davis will try to supply Tata & Howard engineer Jon Gregory with a draft prior to the MRV’s November 14 meeting with a goal to finalize it in December. Secretary Ann Carreiro will join their effort.
Gregory provided a Water Treatment Plant Upgrades project update.
Tata & Howard is proceeding with procurement of the ultra-filtration equipment, and Gregory anticipates long lead times with designer Koch Separation Solutions. He pointed to the membranes themselves, several types of meters and instrumentation, along with blowers.
Applications have been filed for SRF funding, and Tata & Howard is working with an electrical engineer subconsultant. Gregory said he is looking to schedule an update meeting with MassDEP to bring state up to date on progress and set up any bypass requirements.
In his Tata & Howard Report, Gregory said MRV member town water employees will engage in Emergency Response Training will be held on Thursday, November 2, at the Music Hall in Marion across from Island Wharf.
In his Water Treatment Plant Operations update, Renauld said the main meter was calibrated on October 23, that the plant would be hosting divers and vacuuming tanks. He said a compressor went down and that R.A. Mitchell Company was at the site to repair charging on the generator.
In the Water Protection Advisory Committee meeting that immediately preceded the commissioners, John Furtado told the committee his Treasurer’s Report is being delayed by an ongoing but incomplete effort to reconcile the FY23 budget.
“They don’t want to release any of the ledger for FY24 until FY23 is finished,” he said.
Vinnie Furtado, the chairman of both the commission and the committee, said the FY24 allocation had just been received on October 5. But with special town meetings out of the way, he anticipates FY23 accounting will be up to date in time for the committee’s November 14 meeting.
The committee voted to authorize Vinnie Furtado to pay three invoices led by $2,839.97 from Tata & Howard.
Marion DPW engineer Meghan Davis is compiling an invitation list, including Wareham and Middleborough representatives for a regional meeting of member towns’ water officials. The meeting is anticipated for November.
In his Tata & Howard Report, Gregory said graphs up through August 2023 are available with more to soon follow as information comes in from consultant Megan McCarthy.
Tata & Howard bought another level logger and now has two spares. There are four originals still operating and in use.
At Gregory’s suggestion, the committee will reach out to Rick Charon, who was not present Tuesday but had mentioned at the committee’s September committee that he was looking to have David Wong from MassDEP. The intention is to have Wong on the agenda for November 14.
The next meetings of the MRV Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee and Water District Commission are respectively scheduled for Tuesday, November 14, at 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm via Zoom.
MRV Water District Commission/Water Supply Protection Advisory Committee
By Mick Colageo