Lanesborough Crafting Plan For Water Line Expansion To Land Fill

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
Town Administrator Paul Sieloff told the Board of Selectmen that he will solicit bids to engineer the water line expansion.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The town is now looking for quotes from engineering firms in designing the water line expansion to the landfill.
 
The expansion was approved by town meeting and is eyed to help reduce the cost of state-required water testing. An Ore Bed Road home well was found contaminated and the state suspected the chemicals came from the landfill.
 
For the last few years, the town has been paying for additional water monitoring in the area as the state tries to pinpoint the contamination.
 
Last year, a chemical turned up on a test and the Department of Environmental Protection ordered immediate, emergency testing. Those tests were returned negative but did cost the town thousands of dollars to perform. To eliminate those type of tests, the town wants to run a water line up there and connect a least six homes to the system.
 
"The houses that are affected down there with their well, those issues will go away," said Town Administrator Paul Sieloff about unpredictable extra tests the state sometimes orders.
 
Voters approved borrowing $200,000 to perform the work and Sieloff is now reaching out the engineers to craft the plan. From there the town will consider contracting the labor out or doing it in-house.
 
Selectman John Goerlach suggested hiring a couple people full-time and renting equipment just for the project. Goerlach said the Highway Department already has a good understanding of the road — such as where the river crossing and ledges are — and can find out even more.
 
Selectman Robert Ericson asked the department to send as much information it can to the engineering firm that bids on the contract. Then the engineering firm will take the next steps in determining the scope of work.
 
"One of the first steps is soliciting a minimum of three engineering proposals," Sieloff said.
 
Sieloff said a minimum of six homes will be set up to the water system. There are four or five others in the area he hopes will want to hook on. 
 
"I would like to approach the water department," Sieloff said of the upcoming steps. "They are generally very supportive with working with us."
 
In other business, the Selectmen want to get more involved with the elementary school budget. They hope to start establishing meetings with the School Committee in the fall as school officials begin to build their budget.

Tags: contamination,   monitoring,   water line,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships

LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock. 
 
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
 
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
 
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC). 
 
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
 
 MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities.  MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities. 
View Full Story

More Lanesborough Stories