Corrected and updated December 19, 2017
Is Harvard town water safe to drink? Yes, according to Harvard Department of Public Works Director Tim Kilhart and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. But at a Dec. 7 Water Commission meeting, Kilhart told commissioners that the state is now requiring increased testing of the town’s water supply. In addition, it has told the town to clean, patch, and paint the water tank on Bolton Road and to provide a backup generator for the two town wells.
In small communities like Harvard, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) conducts a sanitary survey every three years on the public water supply to determine if it can provide safe drinking water. The agency then generates a report with action items that fall into three categories: noncompliant items that must be fixed immediately; items that must be addressed within a fixed period of time; and recommendations that do not require any action. This year, Harvard’s results included no noncompliant items but did include three items that must be addressed over the next year.
More tests
Currently, the town does monthly water tests from a tap at Town Hall and from the storage tank on Bolton Road. Now the town must also test the two wells off Pond Road that supply water to the storage tank. The DEP noted that the water in the storage tank tested positive for coliform bacteria 12 times over the past three years. Coliform bacteria occurs naturally in the environment and is generally harmless, but its presence may indicate that contaminants could enter the water system, so the DEP has asked for two additional tests every month to determine if bacteria is also present at the wells.
—Tim Kilhart, DPW director
Kilhart told the commission that he thinks the tests will show that the source of the bacteria is in the tank, not the wells, because the positive tests all occurred during the summer months. Water in the tank heats up in warm weather, and if it gets warm enough, it provides a good environment for bacteria, he explained. He added that because the tank holds 300,000 gallons and the town uses only an average of 17,000 gallons a day, the water is sitting in the tank too long. The DEP estimates that the average age of the water in Harvard’s tank is 30 days, much higher than the 20 days or less it recommends to keep bacteria from growing in the summer.
“If we don’t reduce the number of bacteria hits, the DEP might require chlorination,” Kilhart said. Commissioner Kyle Hedrick asked if a solution might be to lower the amount of water stored in the tank, but Kilhart said that a smaller amount of water would get even warmer during the summer, which would increase bacteria growth. He added that lowering the water would take away a resource that might be needed by the Fire Department.
The DEP’s favored solution for low water turnover is a tank mixing system that would keep the water moving. When asked what the cost of a mixing system would be, Kilhart said he thought it would be between $50,000 and $60,000, but he added that he will soon be attending a University of Massachusetts class to learn more about these systems.
A clean tank is a healthy tank
The second DEP requirement is to clean the cement water tank on Bolton Road inside and out, fill surface cracks, and paint it. Town Administrator Tim Bragan said his recollection was that this had been done within the past four years. Kilhart replied that cracks on the outside of the tank were found during an inspection by Underground Solutions, so the DEP wants it serviced.
In 2013, former Department of Public Works Director Rich Nota submitted a capital request form to fund cleaning and resealing the exterior surface of the water tank, including filling “small micro-cracks” on the surface of the tank. The 2014 Annual Town Meeting approved $8,700 for the job, and according to that year’s Annual Report, the job was completed.
Kilhart told the Press that he walked around the tank, and it doesn’t look that bad, but the cracks have to be filled before they get bigger. As for the longevity of sealcoating, he said he doesn’t know what material was used in 2014, but he would likely do some research and reach out to other towns to find a sealcoating material that will last longer than three years.
The third requirement is for a backup generator that could power the town’s two wells during a power outage. The generator is on the list of capital expenses for fiscal 2019 and has already been recommended by the Capital Planning and Investment Committee. It will likely be on the 2018 Town Meeting warrant.
DEP recommendations, from the third category of action items, included installing a mixing system in the water tank and installing security fencing around the tank. The commissioners asked if there had been any security issues at the tank over the past year, and Kilhart said no, other than “some kids sitting on top of the tank drinking.”
Broken hydrants
In addition to the DEP items, Kilhart said three fire hydrants in town are no longer working. He said the 28 hydrants in town are mainly used for flushing the water system and are not relied on for more than an initial attack at a house fire because of the size of the water tank. “Water flows at 1,500 gallons per minute from a fire hose, so the tank would be emptied in about three hours, and we can only pump 3,000 gallons per hour to fill it,” Kilhart explained. But he would like to put the town hydrants on a scheduled maintenance list to keep them all functional.
Kilhart said that the DEP warned him of one noncompliant issue before it submitted its report, which allowed him to quickly remedy the situation. The 12 units at Harvard Commons on Littleton Road have sprinkler systems, which require a backflow connector to prevent water that contains antifreeze from flowing back into the potable water supply. The town is required to inspect all backflow connectors twice a year, but the condominiums were never added to the inspection list, which includes town buildings, the Congregational Church, and a dentist’s office. Those units nearly double the number of connectors to inspect, so that’s an additional hit on the water budget.
A budget shortfall
This fiscal year, Kilhart’s budget for the water system is $18,400, an amount that was put in place before he began working here last April. About half of that has been spent, but Kilhart said the extra work for the backflow connector inspections, the additional monthly water tests, and cleaning and painting the water tank will likely result in a shortfall. And the budget for next fiscal year has already been submitted and reviewed by the Board of Selectmen. Since Kilhart received the DEP’s sanitary survey results after his budget was done, the water commissioners asked him to resubmit a budget that would include funding for the DEP’s required tasks.
Town Administrator Tim Bragan told Kilhart he should push back on the DEP’s requests for more testing during this fiscal year because there is no money in the budget to pay for the tests, even though Kilhart said the extra tests would cost only an additional $60 a month. But Water Commission Chairwoman Cindy Russo said the tests are required by law and they will need to be funded by some other means, such as a Reserve Fund transfer. In January, the commissioners will hold a hearing on water rates and they may consider raising rates to cover the additional expenses needed to maintain the water system. They are also considering a new regulation requiring property owners who have backflow connectors to pay for the twice-yearly inspections.
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected and updated. In the original article, the reference to backflow inspections was incorrect. The units inspected were at Harvard Commons on Littleton Road, not at the Trail Ridge condos.
