>>> EASTHAMPTON'S WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IS AT RISK OF
FAILURE IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS, AND THE COMMUNITY IS NOT ALONE
IN ITS CHALLENGES. SPRINGFIELD, PITTSFIELD AND
OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE GRAPPLING WITH HOW TO KEEP WATER AND SEWER
FLOWING SAFELY TO AND FROM HOMES AND BUSINESSES.
EASTHAMPTON DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR JOSEPH PIPCHINSKI
DISCUSSED HOW THE SYSTEM GOT TO THIS POINT AND WHAT'S BEING DONE
TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES. >> WE'VE KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME,
AT LEAST PUBLIC WORKS OFFICIALS HAVE KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME OUR
INFRASTRUCTURE IS AGING. WE'VE GOT ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS
THRUST UPON US BY THE REGULATORY AGENCIES.
AND WITH THESE NEW STORM WATER REGULATIONS COMING ALONG, WE
KNOW THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH MONEY IN THE POT.
SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHICH ONES OF THE PROJECTS, WHETHER
IT'S A WATER PROJECT OR A WASTE WATER PROJECT OR A SEWER LINE OR
STORM WATER, WHICH PROJECT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO GO FORWARD
WITH FIRST. SO WE'VE DECIDED TO CONTRACT
WITH SOME CONSULTING ENGINEERS AND THEY LOOKED AT ALL THREE
SYSTEMS. >> YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WATER,
SEWER AND STORM WATER, RIGHT? >> YES, WATER, SEWER, AND STORM
WATER. THEY LOOK AT ALL THREE SYSTEMS
AND LOOK WHERE THE DEFICIENCIES ARE, AND ALSO LOOKING FORWARD AS
TO WHAT THE REGULATIONS, THEY FEEL THE REGULATIONS ARE GOING
TO BE IN THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS, AND PUT THOSE INTO AN
ORDER OF PRIORITY FOR US THAT THEY CAN RECOMMEND, WE SHED YOU
SHOULD BE FIXING THIS ONE FIRST. >> WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE WATER
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN, I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING YOU'VE BEEN
HOLDING PUBLIC HEARINGS ON AND YOU'RE IN THE PROCESS OF
NARROWING IT DOWN TO PUT FORTH A FINAL PLAN, BUT IN TERMS OF
WHAT'S ONLINE, THE PLAN YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW HAS EIGHT OBJECTIVES.
AMONG THEM IS, ONE IS TO COLLECT DATA ABOUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
HAVE TOWN RECORDS BEEN KEPT POORLY, OR WHY IS IT YOU WANT TO
COLLECT THAT INFORMATION? >> THE FACT THAT THEY'VE BEEN
KEPT POORLY, THEY'VE BEEN KEPT IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT PLACES,
THEY CERTAINLY AREN'T DIGITIZED. SO WHAT THIS IS GOING TO DO IS
GOING TO HELP US CONSIDERABLY BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE THEM IN ONE
CONCISE PLACE IN DIGITAL FORMAT WHERE OUR ENGINEER CAN PULL THEM
OUT, OUR WATER GUYS CAN PULL THEM OUT AND HAVE THEM RIGHT
WITH THEM, YOU KNOW, IN DIGITAL FORMAT.
>> WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE DEMANDS ON THE WATER WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT DRINKING WATER, BUT ALSO SEWER, THE SEWER WATER
IN TOWN. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE
DEMANDS CURRENTLY? IS THE SYSTEM TAPPED OUT?
IS IT ADEQUATE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE 16,000 OR SO RESIDENTS IN
EASTHAMPTON? >> OUR WEST WATER TREATMENT
PLANT IS CAPABLE OF HANDLING ADDITIONAL CAPACITY.
THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT.
WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS THAT COME ALONG SAY,
LIKE NITROGEN REMOVAL. WITH THE PLANT BEING BUILT IN
THE 50'S AND UPGRADED IN THE 70'S AND EVEN THE 90'S, NITROGEN
REMOVAL IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF.
>> THAT'S A NEW REGULATION, IS THAT FEDERAL OR STATE THAT
REQUIRES THAT? >> IT'S A FEDERAL REGULATION,
BUT IT'S ENFORCED BY THE MASSACHUSETTS D.E.P.
>> CERTAINLY EASTHAMPTON ISN'T THE ONLY COMMUNITY THAT NEEDS TO
MEET THESE REGULATIONS. COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT WESTERN
MASS ARE LOOKING AT THIS. BUT 2014 WAS THE LAST TIME THE
PERMIT WAS LOOKED AT, RIGHT? >> THAT'S CORRECT, THE LAST
WASTE WATER PERMIT WE GOT WAS IN 2014.
THEY TOLD US THAT THE NEW ONES WERE COMING OUT SOON AND WE
EXPECT TO SEE THE NEW ONES ANY DAY, RELATIVELY SOON.
OUR ENGINEERS CONSULTING ENGINEERS, THEY HAVE A HEADS UP
AND KNOW WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, THEY KNOW WHAT E.P.A., THEY'VE
BEEN SPEAKING WITH INDIVIDUALS FROM THE E.P.A., SO THEY KNOW
WHAT WE COULD BE LOOKING AT IN THE FUTURE IF THEY KNOW WHAT
REGULATIONS ARE GOING TO CHANGE AND HOW THAT WILL AFFECT US.
>> WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE NEW STANDARDS, WHY IS IT THAT THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS WORRIED ABOUT THIS INCREASED NITROGEN,
WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY IF IT'S NOT REMOVED?
>> WELL, NITROGEN IS A PRODUCT OF FERTILIZERS AND THINGS LIKE
THAT, AND IN THE RECEIVING WATER LIKE THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, IT
CAN HAVE A DETRIMENTAL AFFECT ON FISH AND WILDLIFE.
THERE'S THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW 30, 40 YEARS AGO THAT WE
KNOW TODAY. SO THAT'S WHY THESE REGULATIONS
ARE COMING ALONG TODAY AND HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE.
>> WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DRINKING WATER, WHICH IS PROBABLY FIRST
AND FOREMOST ON PEOPLE'S MIND, CLEAN, HEALTHY ACCESSIBLE
DRINKING WATER, THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT WATER SOURCES THAT THE
COMMUNITY PULLS FROM, RIGHT? >> YES.
WE HAVE OUR HENDRICK STREET WELL FIELD, OUR NONATUCK PARK WELL
FIELD AND BROOK STREET WELL FIELD, ALL UNDERGROUND WATER.
WE HAVE NO SURFACE WATER, WHICH IS A BIG PLUS FOR THE CITY OF
EASTHAMPTON. SURFACE WATER BRINGS A WHOLE
DIFFERENT SET OF RULES AND REGULATIONS YOU HAVE TO ABIDE
BY. >> BUT WHEN THINKING ABOUT
PLANNING, YOU KNOW THE POPULATION IN WESTERN
MASSACHUSETTS DOESN'T EXPECT ANY HUGE INFLUX IN RESIDENTS.
BUT ARE YOU ALSO LOOKING AT DEVELOPMENT AND WHAT IMPACT THAT
MIGHT HAVE ON THE USE OF DRINKING WATER IN THE COMMUNITY?
>> AGAIN, WE HAVE PLENTY OF CAPACITY WITH OUR DRINKING
WATER. WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PUMP
ABOUT 6 MILLION GALLONS A DAY, AND WE'RE PROBABLY PUMPING MAYBE
2 MILLION A DAY. IT'S NOT SO MUCH THE CAPACITY,
IT'S PROTECTING IT AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE IT.
BACK IN THE 80'S WE HAD THE PROBLEM WITH THE TCE IN ONE OF
THE AQUIFERS, AND WE HAD TO PUT A TREATMENT PLANT IN AT THE TIME
COST 2 MILLION. WE'RE STILL RUNNING THAT PLANT.
BUT WE DON'T WANT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANT SOMETHING LIKE THAT
TO HAPPEN AGAIN. >> WHAT ABOUT THE IMPACT, IF
THERE'S ANY, THAT THE INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS WHEN YOU LOOK AT WATER,
WASTE WATER, AND STORM WATER, THE IMPACT THAT THOSE THREE
SYSTEMS HAVE ON EACH OTHER? ARE THEY INTERRELATED IN ANY
WAY? >> YES, THEY ARE, BECAUSE IF
YOU'RE NOT WATCHING WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH YOUR WASTE WATER YOU
COULD CONTAMINATE YOUR WATER. SO THEY ARE.
THE STORM WATER, NOT SO MUCH ON THE WATER END OF IT, BUT YOU'RE
DAMAGING YOUR RECEIVING BODIES OF WATER IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL
WHAT YOU'RE ALLOWING TO GO THROUGH THE STORM DRAIN AND
EVENTUALLY EMPTY INTO THE RECEIVING BODIES.
>> I KNOW THAT SPRINGFIELD HAS STRUGGLED AT TIMES WITH EXCESS
RAIN WATER EVENTS THAT THEN IMPACT THE STORM WATER AND PUSH
THAT EFFLUENT OUT INTO THE WATER.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE CROSS CONTAMINATION ISSUE THAT
SPRINGFIELD IS CONTENDING WITH? >> WE DO HAVE INFLOW
INFILTRATION SLEWS IN OUR SEWER LINES.
I. N. I., AND THAT'S A VERY COMMON OCCURRENCE.
WHEN WE GET HEAVY RAINS, WE'LL GET TRIPLE THE AMOUNT OF WASTE
WATER COMING THROUGH OUR PLANT. AND WHAT HAPPENS THEN IS THE
EFFLUENT ISN'T TREATED,IT PASSES RIGHT THROUGH THE PLANT INTO THE
CONNECTICUT RIVER AND THAT'S A PROBLEM.
THAT'S WHY THIS PLAN WILL HELP US IDENTIFY WHERE THOSE INFLOW
PROBLEMS ARE, SO MAYBE WE CAN RELINE A PIPE OR RELAY A PIPE OR
PUT A NEW PIPE IN, SOMETHING THAT WE CAN REDUCE THAT INFLOW
INFILTRATION. >> SO YOU'LL BE DEVELOPING THIS
FIVE-YEAR PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD, AND I KNOW THERE ARE LOTS OF
VARIABLES AND YOU'RE STILL LOOKING AT COST.
BUT ARE WE TALKING IN DOUBLE DIGIT MILLIONS?
WHAT'S THE BALLPARK FIGURE? >> IT WILL BE DOUBLE DIGIT
MILLIONS, IT WILL. THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE AN
INEXPENSIVE PROPOSITION. THIS IS GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE.
>> SO UNLIKELY THAT RAISING WATER RATES WOULD COVER THAT, SO
TAXES MAY NEED TO BE INCREASED WITH THIS?
>> EASTHAMPTON IS AN ENTERPRISE, THE WATER SEWER IS AN ENTERPRISE
SYSTEM. SO ANY FUNDS THAT ARE USED OUT
OF THE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM HAS TO COME FROM RATES.
SO AT THIS POINT, THERE'S NO DISCUSSION THAT ANYTHING IS
COMING FROM TAXATION. IT MOST LIKELY WILL HAVE TO COME
FROM THE RATES. SO RATES WILL HAVE TO BE
ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY. >> SO WE'LL KEEP TABS ON THAT.
APPRECIATE YOU COMING IN TODAY TO TALK TO US.
THANKS SO MUCH. >> SURE.