Lanesborough Fire and Water District Shows 20-year Management By Brian Rhodes, iBerkshires Staff
04:33AM / Wednesday, March 16, 2022 | |
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Nearly 40 residents heard a presentation on Tuesday at Town Hall from the Fire and Water District on its new 20-year water system management plan.
"The water district got a grant from the state and got some money to do an asset management analysis of the entire district," said district attorney Mark Siegars. "The purpose of the study was to identify all the resources within the district, to examine them and rate their need for upkeep or replacement."
The district and engineering firm Tighe & Bond created the $125,000 management plan to help guide decision-making for the next two decades. A $75,000 Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection grant went towards the plan's cost, with in-kind service value and cash contributions to the district funding the rest.
One topic discussed was the Bridge Street well, which is currently not operating due to contamination. Siegars said the plan should help the district decide between decontaminating the well or switching to a potential well on Bull Hill.
"We're hoping that it's bigger than [the well on] Miner Road and it has a higher yield. Right now we do have some issues with minerals and rocks that we are trying to address," Siegars said on the possibility of using Bull Hill as a water source. "Right now, Tighe & Bond is doing an analysis for us of the water quality of Bull Hill to see whether we gotta spend any more money."
Tight & Bond created a projected capital improvement plan as part of the project, which outlines $16.8 million of potential maintenance and improvements to water systems over the next 20 years. In response to resident questions about specific numbers regarding project costs and potential rate increases, Water Commission Chair William Pendergast reiterated that this plan is only a projection.
"We don't know how much money is going to be available in grants and in loans, we don't know what paybacks look like" he said. "We're only throwing this information out to show what the possibilities are," he said.
Water Commissioner Aaron Williams said the proposed capital plan primarily consists of high-priority work. He said the district wants to be proactive to avoid the chance of devastating water-related issues.
"What we want to do is prevent that from happening. These aren't frivolous expenses. These are expenses that have to be dealt with," Williams said. "And having this asset management plan is essentially a way of identifying what we're looking at in the future and addressing these issues."
One unintentional way the management plan is already helping, according to Siegars, is by convincing the commissioners to adjust the rate structure to be standardized for every property.
"This whole project has pointed out to the commissioners how messed up the rate structure is," he said. "So one of the positive outcomes of this is addressing the rate structure. ... it's going to be a uniform rate that applies to everyone equally, solely based on what kind of use you have."
Those interested in seeing the plan in full can contact the Fire and Water District for a digital copy or find it here.
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