North Adams Council Hears About Water System Status, Upgrades
Water from the reservoirs is run through the water treatment plant on Pattison Road.
That was the message from Commissioner of Public Services Timothy Lescarbeau on Tuesday as he updated the City Council on the water system.
The update had been requested by Councilor Andrew Fitch, after hearing concerns from residents about the quality of the water, a perceived lack of information, and the statewide drought.
"I think he does great work. He's also a community member, so he drinks our water he's overseeing," he said of the commissioner.
Lescarbeau confirmed that yes, he does drink the water as the very first house on the line.
"I drink a gallon of water every day out of my faucet. I don't have water filters. I don't have anything," he said. "So I'll go to anybody's house. If anybody has a question, I'm going to drink a glass right out of your faucet."
The city's water comes mainly from the Notch and Mount Williams Reservoirs, high above the city and far from any commercial or industrial pollutants. It's filtered through a water treatment plant on Pattison Road that was built in 1992 to comply with the federal Clean Water Act.
Lescarbeau's been working with the water system for three decades, first with United Water, the former contracted operator, and then as commissioner when the city took over the plant's operations in 2010.
Mount Williams, the primary source at close to 260 million gallons, is also equipped with aerators to oxidize the manganese in the water, creating particulates that can be filter out. Testing is done regularly by an independent labratory in Lee and reports are submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection monthly. A sanitory survey is done every three years and one is scheduled next year.
The water system also includes the Greylock well, watersheds and dams, three storage tanks, pumps and stations and 80 miles of pipes in North Adams, Clarksburg, and Williamstown. The city sold the watershed in Pownal, Vt., some years ago.
Lescarbeau said he wasn't concerned about the drought but the 190-foot backup well at Greylock, which pumps 1.3 million gallons a day, was scheduled to be brought online for the first time since 2017.
"We're down 10 feet at Mount Williams. We're not critical until we hit about 12. That's why we're starting the well next week," he said. "The Notch is down a little lower, because I'm pumping out of that right now into Mount Williams. But these things are 50 feet deep, so we still have quite a bit."
Plus, he said, the rainy season is starting. Last year the plan was to bring the Greylock well online Jan. 1 but by the middle of December, the rain had filled up the reservoirs overnight.
"Every time we get one of these storms that have been popping up the last month, it adds a couple of feet to the reservoir," Lescarbeau said. "They come up. The Notch comes up very quick."
The city averages about 2.2 gallons a day but will be using less now because summer usage, like watering lawns, is over, he said.
The system is also able to isolated in case of contamination, he said, using the example of an airplane crashing into Mount Williams, the system could pump directly from the Notch to the treatment plant.
There were concerns about people swimming and boating in the reservoir but Lescarbeau said that's more a safety issue because of the 50-foot depth of the water. Anything they brought into the water would be filtrated out at the treatment plant, he said.
Projects in the pipeline:
- the city is at 90 percent design for its aging dams through a half-million grant; that project is estimated at $18 million;
- two original pumps at the treatment plant are being rebuilt at $70,000 a piece; fencing, security upgrades, a generator and two new pumps are being installed at the East Main Street Extension pump station;
- quotes are being requested for the replacement of the 140-year-old, 24-inch cast iron water main on Massachusetts Avenue into Williamstown. This had connected to the Broad Brook watershed but was taken out of service in 2000. It will be replaced by a 12-inch main and tied into the hydrant system for better fire protection;
- a copper and lead line inventory is being done through a $400,000 grant from Mass DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Tighe & Bond is managing the survey. Lescarbeau said the city has no lead lines but is concerned about galvanized pipes, which many have some lead;
- the treatment plant is seeking two water operators but has had trouble finding qualified individuals.
In answer to questions, he said the city does have unused pipes made of wood and cast iron (the line to Williamstown is stamped "1882," he said) underground.
"Funding is always a challenge because the these projects are getting more expensive every year. We all know about tariffs, we all know about the price of steel and iron. You know, the Mass Ave project, it's probably about a $5 1/2 million project, so we have to come up with that," he said. "There's a lot of SRF [State Revolving Fund] funding, we're looking into grants. It's easier to get grants for parks than it is for replace a water-sewer main, but these are all things that are on the table that we are working on.
"North Adams has a strong multi-source system, and continuous investment in our water quality, safety, compliance, infrastructure and redundancy. I can't stress that enough, our people are dedicated for our system, when it matters the most, they're there."
In other business:
• The council heard presentations on the capital outlay review process by Planning Board member Virginia Riehl and on lead paint.
• Mayor Jennifer A. Macksey appointed Leah Hart to the Conservation Commission, for a term to expire Aug. 1, 2028.
• The mayor requested a public hearing be scheduled Wednesday, Nov. 12, for the fiscal year 2026 tax classification.
Tags: drinking water, water department,
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