Great Barrington — Long-troubled utility company Housatonic Water Works has submitted its plans for a manganese filtration system to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). However, MassDEP has objected to several aspects of the company’s plans.
The installation of the system is part of a rate-increase plan approved by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) in July.
On January 24, HWW gave notice to the DPU that the project was delayed because of financial constraints due to the Great Barrington Board of Health’s Order to Correct, issued against the company on August 22, 2024.
Despite this, on February 13, MassDEP representative Andrew Kelly wrote to Housatonic Water Works (HWW) Treasurer James Mercer that the long-troubled company must move forward with the installation of a manganese filtration system.
The deadline for the installation of the system is March 1, 2026.
On March 11, the company submitted its plans for the system through its consulting engineer Haley Ward Inc., which has offices in five different states including in Massachusetts.
In a letter to Mercer on Tuesday, March 18, Kelly writes that MassDEP objects to several aspects of the submitted plans and that they do not meet MassDEP’s conditions.
Kelly writes that MassDEP’s first requirement is for the treatment system to “incorporate proportional control of the pre-filter sodium hypochlorite feed, allowing for real-time adjustments to the sodium hypochlorite dosage in response to the oxidation demand.”
“The company’s response acknowledges this requirement and states that this feature will be provided, although neither the updated design narrative nor the design plan includes this additional operational component,” Kelly writes. “Design plans and specifications used for bidding and construction must include this operational component. Prior to the treatment system receiving MassDEP’s final approval, the company will need to demonstrate that this operational feature has been incorporated into the construction of the treatment plant.”
Kelly says that the company’s plans for a new booster pumping system to go along with the manganese filtration system are not acceptable to MassDEP.
“[A MassDEP condition] required that HWW confirm the capabilities of the existing booster booster pumping system,” Kelly writes. “In response, Haley Ward has proposed to replace the three existing booster pumps with two new pumps, each with greater capacity to overcome potential head loss created by the new filters and piping. Each proposed pump is rated to produce up to 120 gallons per minute. MassDEP does not approve this new pumping system.”
Kelly cites Chapter 7.4.1 in MassDEP’s guidelines for Public Water Systems requiring “that booster pumping systems be capable of meeting peak demands with the largest pump out of service.”
“The Greensand Plus treatment system is designed with a peak capacity of 260 GPM (Gallons Per Minute),” Kelly writes. “If a duplex pumping system is proposed, then each pump must be capable of meeting this peak demand.”
In his letter, Kelly wrote that HWW must propose a booster pumping system that meets MassDEP’s guidelines within 60 days of March 18.
Kelly writes that MassDEP requires HWW to “reconcile the treatment [system] manufacturer’s stated performance warranty to be able to remove manganese to 0.4 mg/l [milligrams per liter] versus the stated treatment goal within HWWC’s approved pilot study of providing consistent removal of manganese to ≤0.015 mg/l.”
Kelly writes:
In response, Haley Ward provided email correspondence with the manufacturer within which they asserted that the specifications documents included an error and that its performance warranty is actually to remove manganese to a level of 0.04 mg/l.
Construction of the Greensand Plus treatment system is intended not only to allow the company to meet MassDEP’s secondary maximum contaminant level of 0.05 mg/l, but to also address aesthetic color issues experienced in the distribution system during warm weather conditions.
Based on the work done during the pilot study, the company’s consultant determined that the treatment system must be able to remove manganese to a level of 0.015 mg/l in order to meet the color-removal objective.
MassDEP approved the pilot under this stated treatment goal, and the constructed treatment system must be capable of meeting this objective.
Kelly stipulates that, within 30 days of March 18, HWW must “reconcile the manufacturer’s performance warranty and the treatment system’s ability to meet the required treatment goal of 0.015mg/l.”
Kelly cites HWW for not providing enough details on equipment incorporated in two waste-stream dechlorination systems that are supposed to be part of the manganese filtration system.
“[In response to MassDEP’s requests], Haley Ward has added the feed system equipment locations to the design plans,” Kelly writes. “MassDEP has been unable to determine if corresponding equipment additions or updates have been made to the project specifications, as no updated specification document was provided. Design plans and specifications used for bidding and construction must include these additional operational components.”
Kelly adds that the company still must meet the deadlines set forth by MassDEP in its construction of the manganese filtration system.
