HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021-04-27 SEWER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS TOWN OF
WATERTOWN
1630 Office of the Town Manager
Administration Building
149 Main Street
Watertown,MA 02472
Phone: 617-972-6465
www.watertown-ma.gov
townmgr@watertown-ma.gov
Michael J.Driscoll
Town Manager
To: Honorable Town Council
From: Michael J. Driscoll, Town Manager
Date: April 22, 2021
RE: Agenda Item—Proposed Loan Order
As you recall,the following is an excerpt from the Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Capital Improvement
Program dated January 26, 2021: "Included in the Fiscal Years 2020 & 2021 Enterprise Funds CIP is
the utilization of$2,100,000 from the MWRA Inflow and Infiltration I/I Local Financial Assistance
Program which consists of a$1,575,000 grant(75%) and a$525,000 interest free loan(25%)payable
over five years. Proposed Loan Orders will be brought forward for these projects."
On March 23, 2021,the Honorable Town Council adopted thirty-three (33) conceptual
recommendations on the Fiscal Year 2022-2026 CIP.
Conceptual recommendation#27 reads as follows:
• Confirm the previous recommendation to proceed with the FY20 MWRA Sewer Inflow&
Infiltration Local Financial Assistance Program for$1,050,000 consisting of a$787,500 grant
and a$262,500 interest-free loan order; plus proceed with the FY20 MWRA Local Water
System Assistance Program $500,000 interest-free loan order to replace outdated unlined cast
iron water mains.
As a follow up to all of the above, enclosed please find correspondence from Gregory M. St. Louis,
Superintendent of Public Works regarding the Town's application for participation in the
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's (MWRA) Inflow and Infiltration(I/I)Local Financial
Assistance Program.
I recommend pursuing the $1,050,000 from the MWRA's I/I Local Financial Assistance Program. As
stated in the Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 Budget Messages, all of the work to the water, sewer and
drain systems directly impacts the Water and Sewer Rates. Interest free loans and outright grants will
enable the Town to perform necessary work with little or minimal impact on the rate payers.
' 28 State Street
Boston, MA 02109-1775
p:617-345-9000 f:617-345-9020
hinckleyallen.com
Jay Gonzalez
(617)378-4256
jgonzalez@hinckleyallen.com
April 7, 2021
Thomas J. Tracy
Auditor
Administration Building j
149 Main Street
Watertown, Massachusetts 02472
�I
RE: Draft Loan Order—MWRA Sewer System Improvement Bonds
Dear Tom:
As requested, I suggest the following form of loan order to approve the borrowing of funds from
the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to pay costs of sewer system improvements:
ORDERED: That the sum of$1,050,000 is appropriated to pay costs of sewer system
improvements, including all other costs incidental and related thereto;that to meet this
appropriation,the Treasurer,with the approval of the Town Manager, is authorized to
borrow said amount under and pursuant to M.G.L. c.44, §7(1), or pursuant to any other
enabling authority, and to issue bonds or notes of the Town therefor;that the Treasurer,
with the approval of the Town Manager, is authorized to borrow all or a portion of such
amount from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority(the "Authority")pursuant to j
the Authority's inflow and infiltration assistance program and in connection therewith to
enter into a loan agreement and/or financial assistance agreement with the Authority and
otherwise to contract with the Authority with respect to such loan and for any grants or
aid available for the project or for the financing thereof,that the Town Manager is
authorized to accept and expend any grants or aid available for the project or for the
financing thereof,provided that the amount of the authorized borrowing for the project
shall be reduced by the amount of any such grants or aid received; and that any premium
received upon the sale of any bonds or notes approved by this order, less any such
premium applied to the payment of the costs of issuance of such bonds or notes,may be
applied to the payment of costs approved by this order in accordance with M.G.L. c.44,
§20,thereby reducing the amount authorized to be borrowed to pay such costs by a like
amount.
The order must be published in a local newspaper and on the Town's website at least five days
prior to the holding of a public hearing with respect to the order and its final passage and requires
the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all members of the Town Council, as in the case of
any other loan order for bonds.
►ALBANY ► BOSTON ► CHICAGO No, HARTFORD ► MANCHESTER ► NEW YORK ► PROVIDENCE
60882668 v1
Please call me if there are any questions about the suggested proceedings.
Sincerely,
Jay Gonzalez
1630
t
TOWN OF WATERTOWN
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS (P) 617-972-6420
124 ORCHARD STREET (F) 617-972-6402
WATERTOWN MA 02472
Gregory St. Louis, PE
Superintendent
To: Michael J. Driscoll -Town Manager
From: Gregory St. Louis,PE- Superintendent of Public Works
Date: March 12, 2021
Re: MWRA Local Sewer System Assistance Program
The Town's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the Water and Sewer Enterprise funds identifies
$1,050,00 in funding for inflow and infiltration projects to be obtained under the Massachusetts Water
Resources Authority(MWRA)Inflow and Infiltration (I/1)Assistance Program:
httns://www.mwra.com/comsupport/ii/iivrop-ram.html.
1/I consists of outside groundwater and stormwater that enters the sanitary sewer system though aging and
damaged infrastructure including pipes and manholes. This flow reduces the capacity of sanitary sewers to
carry sewer flows and drives up the annual sewer use charges paid by the Town to the MWRA. Additional
information about the Town's program is available at the DPW website:
httDs://www.watertowndt)w.or2/159/lnflow-Infiltration.
The MWRA funding program provides a 75%grant and 25%interest free loan payable over 5 years for
eligible sewer system projects including engineering investigation and design, sewer pipe replacement,
removal of non-sanitary sewer sources, and sewer rehabilitation and construction.
The Department respectfully requests that you to take the actions necessary to obtain authorization for a
$1,050,000 project be approved,to be funded through a$787,500 MWRA grant and a$262,500 MWRA
interest free loan.
The objective of the proposed project is to construct rehabilitations identified during sanitary sewer evaluation
surveys completed in CIP Project 1 areas. The CIP 113 construction project is anticipated to have the following
benefits:
• Eliminate infiltration to the sanitary sewer system
• Eliminate inflow to the sanitary sewer system
• Eliminate cross connections between the sanitary sewer and stormwater systems
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The project is part of the Town's Sanitary Sewer Capital Improvement Program. The construction project will
be the third phase of rehabilitations identified during the CIP Project 1 investigations.
Separately, and using local funds, DPW will begin investigations into proposed CIP Project 2 area this spring.
If approved,we intend to put the project out to bid in the late spring with construction to begin in the summer.
nnwra Community Support Program
onfinn
Infiltration/Inflow Local Financial Assistance
Home Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
About MWRA
Water System
MWRA's I/I Local Financial Assistance Program
Sewer System provides $760 million in grants and interest-free MORE INFORMATION
loans to MWRA sewer communities to perform
Harbor and Bay local infiltration and inflow "I/I" reduction and MWHAC Im Au Suppor�Pro,— Sower
{tAC mmurd ySup Roan Program:
sewer rehabilitation. Funds are approved for 7
School distribution through Fiscal Year 2030.
Program
In June, 2018, on recommendation of the
Doing Business MWRA Advisory Board, the MWRA Board of
Directors approved a $300 million addition
with MWRA
to the community Infiltration/Inflow Local
Contact MWRA Financial Assistance Program for FY19-30. ��„• - +���Ym� w
Program enhancements include:
• Addition of Phase 11 and 12 funds ($100
million per Phase); I/I Project Managers Map and
Contact Information
• Phase 11 and 12 funds distributed as 75% Go back to Community
grant and 25% interest-free loan Support Program Page
Annual I/I Reduction
• Addition of$100 million Phase 13 funds Report (PDF)
that are a loan only allocation;
I/I Local Financial
• Loan repayment over ten (10) years; Assistance Funding
Summary updated December
• 90-day notification to MWRA for 2020 (PDF)
community applications exceeding $2 I/I Funding Summary By
million; and, Phase updated December
2020 (PDF)
• Continuation of projected 3-year
community spending plan. I/I PROGRAM GUIDELINES
AND APPLICATION FORMS
Eligible projects are detailed in the Program
Guidelines and include: I/I Program Guidelines
(.DOC) I (.PDF)
Updated July 2019
• Pipeline Replacement
I/I Program Application
• Public and Private Inflow Source Removal (.DOC) I (.PDF)
Updated July 2019
• I/I Reduction Planning Other Community Support
Program Pages
• Sewer Rehabilitation Construction
LWSAP Program
• Engineering Design LLP Program Page
Engineering Services During Construction
PROJECT BENEFITS
MWRA's I/I Local Financial Assistance Program was initiated in May 1993 to provide
funding to member sewer communities to perform I/I reduction and sewer system
rehabilitation projects within their locally-owned collection systems.
This program is a critical component of MWRA's Regional I/I Reduction Plan. Specifically,
local sewer system rehabilitation projects are intended to at least offset ongoing
collection system deterioration thus preventing a net increase in regional I/I. In the
long-term, system rehabilitation should result in lower I/I, which will allow for future
increases in sanitary flows (residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional) without
a net increase in total wastewater flow. The program fosters efficient operation and
maintenance of local sewer systems.
Regional progress on I/I reduction is detailed in MWRA's Annual I/I Reduction
Report.
Since the program began in 1993, $457 million has been distributed to fund 616 local I/I
identification and sewer system rehabilitation projects.
HOW FUNDS ARE ALLOCATED AND DISTRIBUTED
I/I Local Financial Assistance Funds are allocated to member sewer communities based
on their percent share of wholesale sewer charges. For grant/loan funds remaining
under Program Phases 7/8, member communities receive a 45% grant and a 55%
interest-free loan. The loan is repaid to MWRA over a 5-year period beginning one year
after distribution of the financial assistance.
For grant/loan funds under Program Phases 9 through 12, member communities will
receive a 75% grant and a 25% interest-free loan. The loan will be repaid to MWRA over
a 10-year period beginning one year after distribution of the financial assistance.
Communities are required to exhaust their remaining earlier phase funds prior to
becoming eligible for distribution of later phase funds. Phase 10 and 11 funds become
available to a community in the fiscal year following the distribution of half of its Phase 9
funds. Phase 12 funds became available to a community in the fiscal year following the
distribution of half of its Phase 11 funds. The allocation of Phase 11 through 13 funds are
based upon each community's percent share of the FY19 wholesale sewer charges, as
detailed in the Funding Summary Table (see link above).
APPLICATIONS OVER $2 MILLION ARE SUBJECT TO A 90-DAY
NOTIFICATION
The I/I Local Financial Assistance Guidelines require communities to submit completed
financial assistance applications at least 30 days prior to the target funding distribution
date. For Phase 9 through 13 funds, community funding applications that exceed $2
million are subject to a 90-day notification period prior to the target distribution date.
The completed funding application is still due to MWRA 30-days prior to the target
distribution date. However, the extended notification period for large funding
applications will assist MWRA in budgeting for the Program and management of its
Construction Fund. Based on the combined impact of each quarter's community funding
assistance applications, MWRA's Executive Director is authorized to waive the 90-day
notification rule on a case-by-case basis.
COMMUNITY PROJECTED SPENDING PLAN
Beginning in March 2015, MWRA staff(with assistance from the Advisory Board) has
surveyed the communities each spring to develop 3-year rolling projected spending plan
for Phase 9 through 13 funds. Community projections for the first year should be as
close to actual as possible, with the second and third year being planning estimates. The
goal will be to provide the best available information to the MWRA Budget Department
in early May to assist in finalizing MWRA's annual CIP.
BACKGROUND ON INFILTRATION AND INFLOW
Wastewater discharged by member sewer communities to MWRA is influenced by
seasonal and wet-weather conditions related to infiltration and inflow (I/I). I/I is
extraneous water that enters all wastewater collection systems through a variety of
sources. I/I, as well as stormwater from combined sewers, reduce sewer system
capacity that would otherwise be available to transport sanitary flow.
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Infiltration into a sanitary sewer
Infiltration is groundwater that enters the collection system through physical defects
such as cracked pipes/manholes or deteriorated joints. Typically, many sewer pipes (as
well as private service laterals connecting homes and businesses) are below the
surrounding groundwater table. Therefore, leakage into the sewer (infiltration) is a
broad problem that is difficult and expensive to identify and reduce.
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Inflow into a manhole
Inflow is extraneous flow entering the collection system through point sources and may
be directly related to storm water run-off from sources such as roof leaders, yard and
area drains, basement sump pumps, manhole covers, cross connections from storm
drains or catch basins, drains from springs and swampy areas, leaking tide gates, etc.
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Private inflow from a sump pump
Inflow causes a rapid increase in wastewater flow that occurs during and after storms.
The volume of inflow entering a collection system typically depends on the magnitude
and duration of a storm event, as well as related impacts such as snowmelt and storm
tides.
TYPICAL SEWER SYSTEM REHABILITATION PROJECTS
Internal television inspection of sewers is performed to identify sewer defects and I/I.
The photos below show a technician remotely operating a TV inspection camera inside a
sewer pipe. In the second photo, groundwater infiltration into the sewer pipe is viewed
through the video from the TV inspection camera.
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Smoke testing of sewers is performed to identify direct and indirect stormwater
connections to a separate sewer system. Smoke is blown into the sewer system filling
the pipes. Smoke escapes through direct or indirect connections which can identify catch
basins or area drains improperly connected to a separate sewer system. The photos
below show catch basins connected to the sewer system identified through smoke
testing.
it
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Sewers and sewer manholes that are in poor physical condition are often replaced using
open-cut construction. The three photos below show sewer and manhole replacement in
an area near a salt marsh with high groundwater.
Sewer rehabilitation using a cured-in-place pipe liner is one of many"trenchless"
technologies for extending the service life of sewers and eliminating groundwater
infiltration. The photos below show installation of cured-in-place pipe and a finished lined
pipe.
1
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...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Sewer manholes located in wetland areas, low areas subject to flooding, or salt marshes
are more susceptible to physical defects that may allow inflow to enter the sewer
system. Winter freeze-thaw cycles can be damaging to sewer manhole structures. The
use of geographic information system (GIS) mapping can be particularly effective in
identifying sewer structures located in low lying areas. These structures can then be
prioritized for periodic inspection. The three photos below show a defective sewer
manhole in a wetland area before and after rehabilitation.
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The photos below show a rehabilitated sewer manhole in a salt marsh and the interior of
a manhole following the lining process.
}
Basement sump pumps and roof downspouts directly connected to the sewer (via house
or building plumbing) can be significant sources of inflow. These direct connections are
not allowed in areas served by separate sanitary sewers. They can be identified through
community house-to-house inspection surveys. The first two photos below are typical
examples of basement sump pumps connected to house plumbing. The third photo is an
example of a roof downspout routed into the building basement where it connects to the
house plumbing.
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Back wmtop
PoFfi|eo on this page require Adobe Acrobat Koader@ (free download).
Updated DacemberZ2, 2020
Inflow & Infiltration
Watertown DPW has a program to address inflow and infiltration (1/1) into the municipal
sewer system.
Unlike our water distribution system, which uses full pipes under pressure to deliver
water to homes, the sewer system is rarely full when wastewater is flowing from homes
to the sewage treatment plant. When a water main breaks, it leaks water out. When a
sewer pipe breaks, it allows groundwater and stormwater to leak into the pipe.
When groundwater or stormwater leaks into the sewer system, it takes up extra space
that could be carrying wastewater. This can contribute to sewer backups and overflows.
In addition, this additional "clean" groundwater and stormwater is treated at the MWRA
Wastewater Treatment Plant, at the Town's expense.
Inflow
Inflow is stormwater that is directly piped into the sanitary sewer system to control runoff.
These connections, which may include storm drains in the street, parking lots,
driveways, sump pumps, foundation drains, and gutters, should not be connected into
our sanitary sewer system, which is designed only to carry wastewater.
Infiltration Enable Gooqle Translate
Infiltration is excess water that gets into the sanitary sewer system through open joints,
cracks, root intrusion, and breaks in the pipes. These deficiencies may allow constant
infiltration of groundwater. Cracked or collapsed sewer lines are generally caused by
deterioration over time, poor design, installation, or maintenance.
The DPW's 1/1 program consists of annual monitoring and maintenance of the sewer
system. Monitoring consists of remote television inspection of the sewer system for signs
of blockage, deterioration, root intrusion, and illegal stormwater connections. Manholes
are similarly inspected for signs of inflow and infiltration. Flow isolation is another type of
monitoring method, which helps quantify the amount of 1/1 in a sewer segment. During
flow isolation, manhole to manhole segments of sewer are isolated and the amount of
flow in the line is measured during the early morning hours (between 12 a.m. and 6
a.m.). The majority of residents are sleeping during these hours (so there is little
wastewater in the system), and therefore it can be assumed that the measured flow is
mostly 1/1.
Maintenance activities include cleaning sewer lines and making repairs as noted during
the monitoring phase. There are many methods to repair or even replace damaged
sewer lines. "Trenchless" technologies now exist that permit rehabilitation without
interruption of sewer service or traffic disruption. DPW prefers to use these technologies
and uses "open cut" methods only when there are no other alternatives.
Inflow & Infiltration Diagram
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W/
Untapped Storm Cross-
Roof Drain Cleanout Connection
Connection
— T.
Connected.
Foundation '
Drain — 1
Faulty Manhole
Cover or Frame
INFLOW SOURCES (black teat)
Contact Us
Water & Sewer Division
Physical Address
124 Orchard Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Phone: 617-972-6420
Fax: 617-972-6402
Water/Sewer Division
Normal Business Hours
Monday - Friday
7 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
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