As Templeton
turns…TMLWP Meeting 9/11/12
At
the BOS Meeting on Monday night, I brought up the issue of the multiple water
main breaks in town under new business. Again, I asked for a written report
from TMLWP to answer some of the questions I have about this serious situation.
The chairman, Chris Stewart, asked if I would draft a letter outlining the
questions I would like answered. So I wrote a letter
and sent it along to Chris.
I
decided to attend the Light & Water meeting on 9/11/12 as well. There was
an agenda item to discuss the water main breaks that occurred on July 14th. What I learned from that meeting:
Maple
St water main break happened first.
There
were three separate water main breaks on Mill St.
The
results aren’t in yet on the tests being conducted on the broken pipes.
It
took between 3 to 4 days to refill the tank on Hospital Rd.
The
SCADA system may need to be updated. Hopefully, the data from the SCADA system
can be used to analyze the events leading up to the water main breaks. Maybe
put more sensors on the line.
Mr.
Driscoll presented a spreadsheet to the commissioners that broke the costs of
the water main breaks on July 14th. It cost at least $23,000 to fix
the multiple water main breaks on July 14th. One explanation for the
multiple water main breaks of July 14th is water hammer. After the
initial break occurred, there was air in the lines when the additional water
hit the air pockets it created water hammer.
It
was suggested to replace the water mains on the lower part of Baldwinville Rd
before the road reconstruction.
There
was discussion about the water main breaks on Patriots road. During this
discussion, the water superintendent Ron Davan, indicated on the map in the
conference room where the areas of concern were for the water system. Mr. Davan
pointed out the water tank on Hospital Rd was constructed to help balance the
water system. He mentioned a PLAN designed
by Tata & Howard for Templeton’s water system. Tata & Howard created
the map that is used in the Water Report that is issued annually.
I
asked if the PLAN were available. I
would like a copy of this plan. It seems the plan is about ten years old so it
might take awhile to locate it. Gotta go write a public records request…
Light department update will
follow in a separate blog posting
My
opinions…supported by FACTS ! !
Julie
Farrell
I certainly hope the plan is submitted to the BOS office before a public records request is created. Its a pretty sad situation when a sitting selectman has to file a public records request just to see a document from their own town's utility department. I'm really liking the idea more and more of creating a Public Works Dept. Its time to reel in our "essential services" and make sure they are run efficiently and fairly. It would be nice to pay one PW bill rather than 3 bills. I'm assuming that there would be cost savings in payment processing if 3 were consolidated into 1? Anyone know if this would be true with a PW Dept? I'm also still pretty pissed about the sewer billing structure. Somehow it doesn't seem fair for one person to pay the same price as another household that has 7 people. I heard WInchendon has some water quality problems. Is their water supply managed by the town or by a private company?
ReplyDeleteJust a note the sewer dept went to gallonage billing a while ago. they no longer bill by edus. so less usage less bill. goes by gallonage not by unit.
ReplyDeleteOk. Thank you. I am still confused as to what changed and why I pay same amount every period.
DeleteNewsflash...another water main break on Patriots Rd. Town offices and many residents without water.
ReplyDeleteI think Mr.Driscoll better get his rear in gear and try to get the makers of the SCADA System involved, to figure out if there is a problem with the system. What are the guys that are testing the pipe going to say? YUP, ITS BROKEN! I could see a problem if the pipe was all from the same lot, made at the same time, by the same company! I think that is unlikely. It is not just the cost of the repairs, the inconvience to residents and businesses, and the problems we will have if we have a fire! These water main breaks are happening way to often, it scares me! Oh by the way, Leominster did have a water ban this summer. Why didn't we?
DeleteI thought this was interesting...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh166.htm