All is going well with the $7.1 million project to connect Harvard’s water supply to the Devens water system. At the Water Commission’s Feb. 5 meeting, Tighe & Bond engineers said the project is on track to meet the scheduled 2026 completion date within budget. The commission also began discussing betterment fees for all the properties along Depot Road, which will be able to replace their existing well water with Devens water, which is treated for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
Engineer Tom Mahanna said the water main portion of the project, which runs the full length of Depot Road, is more than 90% complete. He added that all but two service connections to the homes and businesses along the road had been installed, and those two were scheduled to be completed last week. The sitework, foundation, and utility work for the pump station, to be constructed across the railroad tracks at the end of Depot Road, is also done, and underground plumbing will be installed over the next month.
As soon as the weather gets warmer, construction on the building will start, and it should be finished by early spring. Work will then move to the interior of the station, where electricity, plumbing, and a bathroom need to be installed.
Good news about the budget came from engineer Mary Danielson, who said the available contingency for the project is still $300,000. The biggest change order to date, she said, was for the bathroom, which had to be added after design was complete when state building codes changed. Danielson added that she doesn’t anticipate any future expensive change orders.
The commission then briefly discussed betterment fees, which are charged to property owners whose property values benefit from a municipal project such as water or sewer installation. There are 37 homes and businesses along Depot Road that could connect to the new water main, and all are likely to be charged a betterment fee. Town Administrator Dan Nason told the Press that money from betterment fees would go into the Water Enterprise fund and be used to pay down the loan that is financing the project.
Department of Public Works Director David Smith said he had researched betterment fees for water service in neighboring towns, and, based on that data, he suggested a fee of $25,000 for residential properties and $50,000 for commercial properties. Smith also suggested a connection fee of between $5,000 and $7,000, depending on the size of the pipe needed for the connection.
There were some questions about six properties with large setbacks near the Devens end of Depot Road. Nason told the commission those homes would need to install their own shared water main to connect to the service. Water Commission Chair Cindy Russo questioned whether those residents should have to pay the same betterment fee since they will have to pay for a share of a dedicated water main.
Russo also expressed concern that the people who are benefitting the most from this project are the 100 or so customers who currently rely on town water, which is contaminated with PFAS, and there is no plan to charge those residents a betterment fee.
The commission agreed to discuss betterment fees at its next meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.
