A $9.8 million Wakefield/Lynnfield interconnection project will provide customers of the Lynnfield Center Water District with a more sustainable water system, according to LCWD Superintendent John Scenna.
The project calls for the extension of Wakefield’s system into Lynnfield’s, near the Bay State Road and Main Street area. This connection would enable LCWD to tap into Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) water and provide customers with improved water pressure and quality.
“At the end of the day, our existing system can only produce so much water. That’s just the engineering behind the system. It’s not that we don’t want to, we can only do so much,” said Scenna. “The connection gives us another layer to turn to when it comes to water demand. Right now our system relies on groundwater, but with the connection, we will also rely on surface water through the MWRA. Having that diversity is important to the long term sustainability of the system.”
The Select Board gave the project its stamp of approval Tuesday, executing an intermunicipal agreement that outlines the responsibilities of LCWD and the towns of Wakefield and Lynnfield.
Scenna thanked the board, Town Counsel Tom Mullen, Town Administrator Rob Dolan, Town Engineer Lisa DeMeo, and Department of Public Works Director John Tomasz for the work they did to put the agreement together.
“You all had a part in crafting this agreement, which is intricate,” Scenna said.
Scenna said the agreement speaks to details of the various permits required from MassDOT, the conservation agencies, and required permitting. It also addresses roadway restoration responsibilities. Bay State Road will be repaved and the trench on Main Street will undergo a permanent restoration.
The interconnection of the two systems will be the responsibility of LCWD, but the portion of the Wakefield connection located in Lynnfield will be the responsibility of Wakefield, according to Scenna.
Scenna said the agreement was approved by the LCWD Board of Commissioners and the Wakefield Select Board on Monday and that Wakefield has already selected Waltham-based A. Cardillo & Sons, Inc. as its contractor.
“We could get started as early as two weeks from now. We look forward to completing this first phase of what eventually will … supplement our system with MWRA water with up to 20 percent more volume at maximum capacity,” he said.
The second phase of the project will be the installation of an underground vault off Main Street on a side strip of land adjacent to the Route 128 ramp opposite Bay State Road. LCWD is currently working with MassDOT to acquire an easement on the property where the vault will be located. The vault will serve as a meter and a monitor of water quality. It is currently in the design phase.
“We hope to get that out to bid in early summer and build it late summer/early fall,” Scenna said, adding LCWD is going through “an extensive process” with state agencies that are addressing numerous issues.
“Several environmental agencies across the state are reviewing this entire project to make sure that it’s all permitted correctly and make sure it’s all ready to go before it’s turned on,” said Scenna. “It’s all regulated with several agencies putting eyes on it. We’re hopeful that that process runs efficiently so we can have all our permits in place by this time next year.”
“I think you guys have done a great job with this agreement,” Select Board member Phil Crawford said. “I’ve gone through it and don’t really have any issues with it.”
Fellow Select Board member Joe Connell added that he did not have any questions or comments because “John’s kept us up to date for over this past year.”
LCWD currently supplies drinking water to approximately 70 percent of Lynnfield residents, all four schools, and all of the town’s municipal facilities. By tapping into an MWRA-supplied water source, LCWD will be able to diversify its customers’ drinking water supply and alleviate some of the problems it currently experiences due to low flow conditions within the Ipswich River basin. This will also help to reduce its reliance on the North Coastal basin well sources.
Scenna said the MWRA water is being permitted for year-round use and will allow LCWD to maintain water pressure, especially when storage tank levels are low.
“Pressure is impacted by the volume of water and our ability to keep our storage tanks full,” Scenna said. “When our tanks are low, there is a decrease in pressure, but this will increase the volume — so the interconnection will have an indirect positive effect.”
