Meredith water Committee questions conventional wisdom

In a preliminary report to the Board of Selectmen this week the Water System Committee questioned the presumption that without significant investments to expand the water treatment plant and add a second storage tank the system could soon run short of capacity to meet demand.

Last March Bob Hill, superintendent of the Water Department, described the system as at a "tipping point," and concluded that "without further expansion of ... treatment and storage capacities, it is questionable which, if any, of the above developments would be allowed to connect to the municipal water system."

Earlier, in 2005, Ray Korber of KV Partners, consulting engineers to the department, reported that the treatment plant is capable of producing 900,000 gallons per day, or 30,000 gallons less than the maximum daily demand of 930,000 gallons recorded in 2004 and 320,000 gallons less than the maximum daily demand of 1,220,000 gallons projected by 2014. Likewise, he reported that although the lone storage tank on Ladd Hill holds 1.5-million gallons, only 250,000 gallons is available for use at any given time because the remainder is required to maintain optimal water pressure throughout the system. This year the Selectboard adopted a policy for allocating the remaining capacity of the system that grants priority to the holders of outstanding building permits and parcels within the existing service area and assigns the balance to new developments.

David Thorpe, chairman of the committee, cautioned that its findings remained to be confirmed, but indicated that the panel believed that the remaining capacity of the system was greater than supposed. "We think that there is sufficient capacity to satisfy foreseeable demand," he said yesterday.

Committee member Keith Forrester, an engineer, explained that prior estimates of capacity overlooked two major factors. First, he said that the output of finished water from the treatment plant could be increased and the amount of backwash reduced by introducing new methods of treating water, what he called "new chemistry." Second, he said that replacing and cleaning the mains and pipes would ensure sufficient pressure throughout the distribution system without having to hold 1,250,000 gallons in the tank.

Thorpe told the Selectboard that "treatment capacity probably can be increased in the same footprint with better filtering technology." The plant, said Forrester, was using "a very old technology," and that at relatively little expense could produce more water is less time and with less waste. "It could be 10 or 15 years before the plant would have to be expanded," he said. "The plant is not underdesigned."

Likening the water system to the human body, Forrester explained that the lack of pressure in the system was not the result of insufficient water in the storage tank, but "clogged arteries," lines that have become filled with deposits. "The tank is not about pressure," he said. "It's about volume. Clean the lines and the whole tank is usable." Thorpe pointed out that the replacement of water mains on Water Street and red Gate Lane would increase the capacity of the tank and future improvements to the distribution system, including regular maintenance of the lines, would add to it further.

If the committee confirms its initial findings, there would no urgent need to expand the treatment plant. In 2006 the town appropriated $100,000 to acquire a 0.5-acre parcel adjacent to the water treatment plant owned by the Gerrity Company, Inc. and when negotiations languished the selectmen contemplated taking the property by eminent domain. Meanwhile, the cost of expanding the treatment plant was estimated at more than $2-million.

However, Thorpe noted that the water system relies exclusively on Lake Waukewan and suggested that a groundwater source of supply and additional storage tank should be developed in the future. Likewise, he stressed that the committee has yet to develop a satisfactory means of projecting future demand, particularly as demand has declined for the past five years as the town has introduced measures to encourage conservation, including an overhaul of the rate structure.

Thorpe said that he expects the committee will present its recommendations for addressing the structure and operation of the water system in July or August before turning to what he called "policy issues," which includes the extent of the service area, allocation of costs between users and taxpayers and structuring the rates.