Water Pollution Control Authority
Regular Meeting Minutes
March 2, 2010
The regular meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority was held on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, 20 Gildersleeve Drive, East Hampton, CT. The members in attendance included:
Mark Barmasse, Chairman Dag Lindland
John Hanson Roger Abraham
Dave Kelsey was not in attendance. Members of the public included Mr. Peter Carli, Hampton Woods Development, LLC, Mr. James O’Brien, Weston & Sampson Engineers, LLC, and Mr. Peter Hughes, Town Planner Town of Marlborough. Also in attendance was Vincent F. Susco, Jr., Public Utilities Administrator and George Pfaffenbach, Board of Finance Liaison. Pam McCann served as recording secretary.
Call to Order
Chairman Barmasse called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. and requested that agenda item #7. B.) 2. presentation by Weston & Sampson Engineers regarding final Marlborough expenses, be taken up at this time to accommodate Mr. O’Brien’s time schedule. The members unanimously agreed.
Mr. O’Brien presented Weston & Sampson’s final cost projections for Contract #1-the transmission line construction (F&J Construction) and Contract #2 pump station construction (Kovac Construction, Inc.). He distributed two spreadsheets which depicted the breakdown of the expenses. These handouts are made part of the minutes.
Mr. O’Brien reported that since his last visit in September there have been no further change orders that affect the EHWPCA. East Hampton’s share of contract #1 totaled $507,571.99. Mr. O’Brien explained the breakdown of this cost; $236,638.00 was the original bid, $42,986.00 change order #3 to extend the pipe to the appropriate terminus, $220,854.00 change order #4 which represented unexpected rock encounterd along the route and $7,093.99 change order #6 for additional laterals installed at the request of the EHWPCA.
East Hampton’s share of contract #2, the construction of a new lift station at the East Hampton town line, $430,539.00 and the upgrade of the lift station at American Distillery $681,773.81 totaled $1,112,312.81. Mr. O’Brien indicated the cost overruns at Town Line Station, made necessary by inaccurate mapping provided by the Town’s Assessor’s department, where offset by credits at the American Distillery site as a result of the relocation of the standby generator. The net difference represented a cost saving of $33,226.19.
Mr. Susco and Mr. Hughes presented the final accounting of the second amendment to the Sewerage Transit and Disposal Agreement between the EHWPCA and the MWPCA. This amendment requires that the cost of the upgrades at American Distillery be split.
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The EHWPCA will be responsible for 35% of the cost and Marlborough will be responsible for 65% of the costs. The upgrades to the lift station at American Distillery will cost EHWPCA $238,620.83 and $443,152.98 to the MWPCA.
Mr. Susco reported the final cost of the project to be $1,176,731.80. Mr. Susco reminded the members that this cost has been borne in total by the WPCA and that a transfer from the WPCA Capital Fund has been authorized to cover the final cost. These costs will be completely covered by the connection charge of $4,460.00 per EDU established at the May 20, 2008 Public Hearing.
Mr. Susco, Hughes and O’Brien responded to questions from the members. Mr. O’Brien indicated all cost accounting for the project must go through the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection as they are the lead agency for Marlborough’s funding. The numbers presented here tonight have been reviewed by the DEP.
Mr. Susco estimated the credit to MWPCA for the American Distillery upgrades would expire in approximately 2-3 years as it is based upon the flow received from Marlborough.
Mr. Hughes mentioned the town offices building and school will be connected to the wastewater system during the April vacation.
The following resolution moved by Mr. Abraham seconded by Mr. Lindland was unanimously adopted:
RESOLVED: This SECOND AMENDMENT TO SEWERAGE TRANSIT AND DISPOSAL AGREEMENT (the "Amendment") dated August 5, 2008 by and between the TOWN OF EAST HAMPTON, acting herein through the EAST HAMPTON WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY (hereinafter referred to as "EHWPCA"), and the TOWN OF MARLBOROUGH, acting herein through the MARLBOROUGH WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY is hereby amended as follows.
WHEREAS, EHWPCA and MWPCA have entered into a certain Sewerage Treatment and Disposal Agreement dated October 14, 2004 (the "Agreement"), and as amended from time to time, pursuant to which, among other things, MWPCA has the right to transport sewerage for treatment, discharge and disposal from its sewerage system through the sewerage system operated by EHWPCA to the East Hampton-Colchester Water Pollution Control Facility;
WHEREAS, in connection with EHWPCA's sewerage system, EHWPCA operates a sewerage pumping facility located on East High Street, East Hampton, Connecticut (the "Existing Pumping Facility");
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WHEREAS, Marlborough, acting through the MWPCA, has agreed to pay to install an emergency generator at and upgrade the Existing Pumping Facility (the “Upgrade”), which shall provide both for current and anticipated increases in Marlborough's sewerage system capacity needs and for anticipated increases in the Town of East Hampton's sewerage system capacity needs;
WHEREAS, EHWPCA has agreed to reimburse Marlborough for that portion of the Upgrade that relates to the Town of East Hampton's future sewerage system capacity needs subject to a final accounting of all expenses; and
WHEREAS, the Upgrade has been deemed complete by all parties the MWPCA and EHWPCA desire to establish the final cost of said Upgrade.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants described on the Amendment, the parties hereby agree to a final cost of $681,773.81.
NOTWITHSTANDING the foregoing the EHWPCA shall reimburse the MWPCA in accordance with Section 17.03, thirty-five percent (35%), of all costs and expenses of the Upgrade. Said 35% is determined to be $238,620.83.
Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Hughes left the meeting at 6:05 P.M.
Chairman Barmasse requested that the agenda items regarding the Hampton Woods project be taken up at this time to accommodate Mr. Carli. The members unanimously agreed.
Mr. Susco reported in accordance with the Town’s “Regulations for Acceptance of Public Water Systems” (regulations) Hampton Woods, LLC has completed the required 5-day aquifer pumping test (2/18-22/10). As required by the Regulations the pumping test also included monitoring of private water supply wells.
Independent ground water analysis of the results of this pumping test by both the developer’s groundwater engineers and the WPCA’s groundwater engineer have concluded that there will be a sufficient quantity of groundwater available to support the project and that private wells will be only minimally impacted. At the present time all parties continue to address the best alternative to mitigate these impacts.
Pursuant to Section 4 of the regulations and based upon these conclusions the WPCA is prepared to move forward with the Certificate of Public Convenience & Necessity process.
Mr. Susco reported the WPCA has completed its initial review of the proposed wastewater system to accommodate the subdivision known as Hampton Woods located
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off of East High Street. This 254 unit “Townhouse Community” development consists
of approximately 4,300 L.F. of gravity sewer, 2,200 L.F. of force main and two (2) lift stations. Our engineer has reviewed the latest revision of the plans and has presented the appropriate estimates for construction ($1,557,000.00) and inspection ($34,500.00). The Water & Sewer Commission must now set a Public Hearing for the wastewater project.
Mr. Susco responded to questions from the members on both the water and wastewater systems. The following resolution moved by Mr. Abraham, seconded by Mr. Lindland was unanimously adopted:
RESOLVED: That the Water Pollution Control Authority of the Town of East Hampton, Connecticut, will hold a Public Hearing at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, 20 Gildersleeve Drive, in East Hampton, Connecticut, on the 6th of April 2010, at 5:00 P.M. to consider whether or not to approve construction of a proposed extension of the public sewer system connecting into the existing sewer system on East High Street, East Hampton Connecticut. This extension is to serve a proposed residential development as shown on plans entitled “Hampton Woods, An Affordable Housing Community, located at 206 East High Street, East Hampton, CT, Prepared for Hampton Woods Development, LLC; Date: October 1, 2009, revised March 1, 2010 by Milone & MacBroom, Engineers, Cheshire,
Connecticut”. Said map is on file for public inspection in the East Hampton Water Pollution Control office, 20 Gildersleeve Drive, East Hampton, Connecticut.
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Barmasse called for the approval of the minutes of the January 5, 2010 regularly scheduled meeting.~ Mr. Hanson, motioned, seconded by Mr. Abraham, to approve the minutes as submitted. The minutes were approved by a 4-0 vote.
Public Remarks
There was no public comment.
Review of Correspondence
Mr. Susco reported these items would be discussed during the course of the meeting and that the discussion of the Lakeview Court sewer user fees will be tabled at the request of the property owner.
Town Council Liaison
No liaison was present.
Board of Finance Liaison
Mr. Pfaffenbach was welcomed back as the Finance Board liaison. He reported the Town is in the troughs of preparing the annual budget and that a great deal of work still needs to be done.
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Committee Reports
Joint Facilities Report of Operations
Chairman Barmasse presented the report of the Joint Facilities meeting held in February.
He reported the wastewater treatment plant operated within parameters for the period. Severe weather was responsible for several call outs at various lift stations. Four operators took the State certification exams in January. One individual successfully passed the Class III exam, and as a result the facility is no longer in violation of the RCSA 22a-416-6(b)(4) for failure to have a Shift Operator. Training was held on the Marlborough SCADA system. Management attended the NEWEA annual conference in Boston.
Several maintenance projects were completed during the time period. The sludge well for the belt press was cleaned, repairs where made to the mixer in the #2 aeration tank, valve seats were removed and replaced at the #2 primary pump and the air compressor at the odor control station was rebuilt.
The operating budget for the current fiscal year remains within parameters. The Joint Facilties operating budget for the 2010/2011 fiscal year was passed. The budget totaled $1,799,075.00 and represents a 2.45% increase over the previous year. The Joint Facilties also authorizesd management to proceed with the transfer of $250,000.00 from the Undesignated Fund Balance (Fund 08, ORG 62580582) to the Capital Fund Balance (Fund 88, ORG 62580584). This transfer is to be invested in a long term investment vehicle subject to the final recommendations of the Town’s Finance Director.
No agreement has been reached in the labor negotiations but both sides are close.
The members authorized management to proceed with improvements to the HVAC of the Administration building. A high efficiency heating and cooling heat pump system using the effluent from the WWTP as its source has been identified as the best solution. The cost is not expected to exceed $58,250.00.
Operations, Management & Budget Committee
Mr. Susco presented the WPCA operating budget status report. He reported no new variances had occurred during the time frame. Mr. Susco mentioned work has started on the operating budget for the 2010/11 fiscal year. A review of the budget will take place at the April meeting with action scheduled for the May meeting.
Mr. Susco reported on the water operating budget. The finance department determined it was necessary to reclassify $5,000.00 of water quality testing fees that were accounted for in the previous year’s budget into this year’s budget. Therefore, account #5330 Prof/Tech Services will have a permanent variance for the Royal Oaks Water System and Town Center Water System throughout the fiscal year.
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Mr. Susco mentioned the current alarm company, KX – Colchester, has informed us that they will no longer be providing this service after July 1, 2010. Presently there are over 35 stations both water & wastewater in four towns that they monitor. Management will be reviewing the options in the near future and will have a recommendation before July 1, 2010.
Public Water System
Town Center Water System Operations
Mr. Susco reported the water system continues to perform within its’ design limits. Due to the numerous business closings in the Village Center production/revenue continues to lag behind what was projected. The Town Council on February 9, 2010 adopted the Water Development Task Force water connection policy, a copy has been made available to all members present and a copy to be included in the minutes. This policy places a high priority on public health and safety, economic development or redevelopment and the proximity of the property to the existing water main. The determination of the connection charge for new customers remains to be completed by the Task Force.
Royal Oaks Water System Operations
Mr. Susco updated the members on the recent water quality issues experienced at the ROWS. Approximately 6 weeks ago we began to receive an inordinate amount of dirty water calls from customers on the Royal Oaks Water System. From time to time we have received similar calls but they are usually individual in nature and with a visit to the property we have talked them off the “ledge”. This last event was different.
There were too many calls, the timing was to close together and upon visiting their homes the “dirty” water was extreme. Our first action was to review the treatment process and although it seemed to be functioning normally we were not producing a quality product from the storage tanks. With very limited demand on the system (remember this is the middle of the winter) we decided to reduce the amount of water we held in storage, thisreduced the amount of time the water would sit before entering the distribution limit. We also found a warm enough day to flush the distribution system.
For several days all was well but about a week later another series of dirty water calls were received. Only this time the customers called the State Health Department. We immediately expected something had failed at the treatment plant but to our surprise could not find anything. As a result of our first experience we determined the dirty water was predominately iron. Iron in the distribution system means either the treatment system has failed or that the treatment system has been hit with higher concentrations of iron in the raw water and it cannot be removed as effectively. We sampled the raw water from each well and found high concentrations of iron from Well #3. A review of our production records indicate the first round of dirty water calls and the second were preceded by Well #3
being the lead well for that day.
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We immediately took the well of line, took additional samples to be sent to the lab, increased the production from the Memorial School well and flushed the distribution system. The results of the sampling came in Monday March 1st. Raw water iron concentrations in East Hampton typically average between 3.0-5.0 mg/l (milligrams/liter) anything under that usually can be treated and reduced to less than .3 mg/l which is the secondary standard established by the State. The results received were:
Well #1 5.29 mg/l
Well #3 45.3 mg/l (this is not a misprint)
Well #4 1.79 mg/l
Although there is an increase in all the wells, the 45.3 mg/l from Well #3 is off the scale and it rendered the well useless, it cannot be treated with the present system and simply cannot be used as a water supply. We have original raw water data from the 2004 pump test and the highest concentration of iron reported was from Well #4 at 1.01 mg/l. Clearly something has changed but what and how do we deal with it?
We have been in daily contact with the State Health Department and they have approved all of our actions to date but they are interim measures at best. A site inspection is in the offing.
It is almost certain that after the inspection we will be requested to investigate a better long term solution which may include but not be limited to, adding provisions to increase the contact time between the oxidizing agent(s) and the water containing high levels of iron, re-evaluating the chemicals injected, reevaluating the order they are injected, filter sizes, storage tank flushing, maybe even abandonment of the well and redrilling a new one, etc. The range of costs to implement these long term solutions will vary greatly and must be evaluated before we proceed. All of this must be expedited due to the upcoming summer season. We simply cannot go into the summer months with 1/4 of our production unavailable; water restrictions, purchasing water and the demand on the rest of the wells all of
which spell a potential problem.
Management recommended that we proceed with an evaluation of the possible solutions and requested that GeoInsight be contacted to assist with the evaluation. Their knowledge of the ROWS and experience with several other community water systems some in East Hampton with similar raw water issues will be very useful.
The WPCA requested management proceed and obtain a cost and timeline for presentation to the Town.
Proposed Public Water Systems
Belltown Water System
Mr. Susco reported we have not received a response to our January 28, 2010 correspondence which articulated 39 concerns regarding the water system plans.
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Hampton Woods Water System
Previously discussed.
Municipal Water System
Mr. Susco reported work continues on the 2006 STAG Grant Application which is being handled through the Town Managers office.
Two proposals for financial planning for the construction of a municipal water system have been received by the Town Manager and they are scheduled to be discussed at the next Water Developerment Task Force meeting.
At the request of the Town Manager, the Public Utilities Administrator reviewed and made changes to the Water Supply Plan, Final Design and Construction Management Plan RFQ. This document is also scheduled to be discussed at the next Water Developerment Task Force meeting.
Mr. Susco reported the State Department of Health Drinking Water Division has provided verbal approval of the recently submitted Easement Documents for the Oakum Dock Well Field. DayPitney has begun a final title search of the three properties and we expect final executed copies shortly thereafter.
With the execution of the documents work can begin on the relocation of the Barton Septic System and cleanup of the site.
Mr. Susco presented the Chief Certified Operator’s contract for the Royal Oaks and Village Center Water Systems. Mr. Susco reminded the members of the history and the
reasons for employing an independent contractor. Terms of the contract, compensation and duties, remain the same, however, the expiration date was extended until June 30, 2010. There being no questions, the following resolution moved by Mr. Hanson, seconded by Mr. Lindland was unanimously adopted.
RESOLVED: that management is hereby authorized to sign the Certified Operator Service contract, substantially in the form submitted at this meeting, with Paul J. Radicchi, LLC to provide operator services as required by the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies for the Royal Oaks and Village Center Water Systems.
Sewer Development
Belltown Wastewater System
Nothing to report.
Hampton Woods Wastewater System
Previously discussed
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Old Business
Nothing to report.
New Business
Anthony Cove - Lake Road
Mr. Susco reported on this proposed project to be located at 19 and 23 Lake Drive. He explained the proposed private water systems are under the jurisdiction of the local health department and that several modifications will be necessary in order for the units to be connected to the wastewater system.
Sewer Use Charge Audit
Mr. Susco explained the impetus behind this initiative rests with the desire to satisfy the need for an accurate customer count and equivalent dwelling unit count. The regulations governing the WPCA require that “administratively” this be accomplished yearly however the accuracy of this count has been questioned. By utilizing recent changes in office personal and the Town’s GIS effort this can now be accomplished in a more efficient manner.
A review of the assigned units of the Town’s top 10 taxpayers and municipal buildings indicates several discrepancies that will need to be corrected prior to the October 1, billing. A lengthy discussion followed; members felt this effort should be performed more frequently and that it must assure that every property connected to the system pay their proportional share. Mr. Susco indicated the effort could be highly sensitive and that the results will be shared with the members at subsequent meetings.
Mr. Susco indicated members packages included a copy of the Stream Flow Regulations testimony that was presented before the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection on January 21, 2010. There were 311 statements entered into the record and subsequent hearing dates will need to be set.
Adjournment
Mr. Lindland motioned, seconded by Mr. Abraham, to adjourn the meeting. All voting in favor, the meeting was closed at 7:45 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Recording Secretary
Approved by unanimous vote of the Water Pollution Control Authority on June 1, 2010.
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