HOLDEN – City council had promised residents who complained about discolored water that they would make progress towards a solution and put the item on the agenda for the July 12th session for full discussion.
“We are determined to fix the problem,” said Selectman Anthony Renzoni at the board meeting on July 12th, reiterating the promise made by board members over the past few months.
In a long discussion, the board of directors and the water department explored possible solutions to the longstanding problem.
As expected, there was no easy solution.
“If I could flip a switch, I would have already done it,” said Ryan Mouradian, superintendent of the water / wastewater division.
More tests are planned to find the source of the problem, with things like flow changes and cameras, but larger solutions could include a multi-million dollar water purifier for water from the Spring Street well.
Other options might be to stop using this well and buy more water from Worcester; the city is already buying some because it has reduced the amount extracted from the well and the other wells are at their maximum production capacity.
In addition to a water study – which began in 2017 and was completed this year – Mouradian detailed plans for numerous tests after previous attempts to fix the problem proved unsuccessful.
“We believe the discoloration is the result of the iron content in the Spring Street well,” Mouradian said.
Quarterly tests for iron are done at the source, he said, and the results have never exceeded the goal of 1 milligrams per liter for a combination of iron and manganese.
But discoloration is about more than just security levels.
For those who prefer not to pump iron by lifting a glass of water, the effects are frustrating, even if only a small percentage of the city’s water users are affected.
Comments from residents
Selected people may not have needed a reminder of the water problems, but they did get some as residents used the meeting’s citizens’ address to raise awareness of the impact of the water problem. Some have paid many visits to the Board of Directors.
Resident Christopher Buck, who attended meetings regularly and sometimes brought samples of the stained water to back his point, said he was “one in 10 households that have called many times in years,” but noted that he was no one gets a call back when calling with a complaint to ensure that it is properly logged.
Resident Maureen Lally offered a show and tell, showing a white shirt that was no longer white due to the water problems.
“Our water was good in the 1990s,” she said. “It got worse and worse over the years. Sometimes it takes a few days, sometimes a day. You never know when it will happen. “
Since the problem occurs at least every couple of weeks, Lally said that “the point is, if I call down there, all they can do is put out the fire hydrants.”
She said she was told someone would get in touch with her, but that never happens, she said.
“I’m here tonight to hear what the plan is,” Lally said, noting, “I spend money to replace clothes,” and if the solution is to run her water on for discoloration To eliminate it, it pays more water and sewer bills to do so.
“I’ve been there a long time and it just got worse,” she added.
Renzoni told her to “keep calling. We keep a log of these things. We’re trying to find a solution, but we need data.
“Call all the time. It is their job; they are paid for it. “
Later during the meeting, Town Manager Peter Lukes stressed that the city had been trying to call more residents who are having the problem with details.
“The problem is we don’t get the complaints,” said Lukes. “We made it very clear: This is how we learn. We begged. “
solutions
Potential solutions include expensive options like a sewage treatment plant, which costs between $ 2.2 million and $ 3.6 million, possibly more depending on state requirements, Mouradian said.
A plant would filter out the iron, but it would require the addition of chlorine to the water, which is not currently done with Holden’s water. One of the complaints the water department gets is the taste of chlorine when using a large amount of Worcester water.
A consultant is currently updating and calibrating the computer model of the water system, Mouradian said. That will allow the department to experiment with different things without affecting other customers, like closing valves or moving water in different directions.
A specific area of discomfort is fed by two areas that can change the direction of flow, he said. It might help to have water flow in only one direction, he said. Pipes with low flow or slow flowing water tend to have more problems, and cul-de-sac pipes also have problems, he said.
“A lot of this has to be trial and error,” said Lukes. “We are conducting consistent discussions on this. We’re always trying to find something that fixes it. “
But as they come up with possible solutions, “a lot of it was ‘what if we try this?’ Starting with the more likely. These guys put their heads together. “
Mouradian added that many of the trials take some time to see if they actually work.
The test could include moving a camera along the pipes. This could show if the connections to some houses are at the lower end of the utility line where iron accumulates, in which case the pipe joint could be dug up and moved higher up the utility line.
However, the camera inspection is not planned until the autumn flush, as the camera could disturb sediments at other times and impair vision and the ability to see.
Another option would be to simply stop using the Spring Street fountain, where the biggest problem seems to be arising.
Since the city’s wells are almost at full capacity or almost at full capacity, new water sources would have to be found.
Reduced water from the Spring Street well is already costing the city around $ 100,000 a year in Worcester water, Mouradian said. That could double if the well were closed and it would add more of Worcester’s chlorinated water to the Holden system.
Finding a new source of pumping water in the city is an expensive undertaking; The last drill site to track the city was shut down after a million dollar investment when an endangered fish was found at Poor Farm Brook, said DPW director John Woodsmall.
Some of the solutions discussed, including Worcester water or a sewage treatment plant, will add chlorine.
“Chlorination only creates more problems,” said Renzoni. “Everyone likes our water; Our water tastes great, ”he said, pausing before adding“ most of our water ”.
“With any chlorine level, people think they’re drinking pool water,” Mouradian said.
“Here’s the problem: the impact,” said Lukes.
“The ‘nuclear option’ of taking them offline costs a fortune,” said Selectman Robert Lavigne.
Building a sewage treatment plant “feels like another nuclear option”.
He said he was glad there were plans for the two areas where the problems had arisen.
“We don’t have this problem anywhere else,” he said, narrowing the problem down to one well.
Renzoni said the new advisory committee on water and sanitation, which includes experts, officials and local residents, will also look at the issue.
“All options are on the table,” said Renzoni. “We have to make a commitment to deliver the water we all expect.
“We want to deliver the same water that we all expect in our homes,” he said. “We are determined to fix that. Every customer is important. “
“The same goes for the water department,” said Mouradian.
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