Summary of:
MWRA BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
August 11, 2004
A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority was held on August 11, 2004 at the Charlestown Navy Yard. Present: Lucile Hicks, Gubernatorial Appointee; Joseph Foti, Advisory Board Representative; Kevin Cotter and Antonia Pollack, City of Boston Representatives; Joseph MacRitchie, City of Quincy Representative; Marie Turner, Town of Winthrop Representative. Absent: Chair Ellen Roy Herzfelder, Gubernatorial Appointee; John Carroll and Andrew Pappastergion, Advisory Board Representatives; Vincent Mannering, City of Boston Representative; Donald Mitchell, Gubernatorial Appointee.
Contract Amendment/Change Orders
AGENDA
Report of the Executive Director
MWRA Executive Director, Fred Laskey, reported cell 1 of the Norumbega covered storage tank was activated this week. With cells 2 and 3 already in service, the entire facility is now on-line.
Work on the Braintree/Weymouth siphons continues. A second directional drill has been pulled through and both connections have been made under the Bay. This project will lead to environmental relief in the Fore River.
With regard to the Watershed Protection Trust Fund, Mr. Laskey reported the Authority’s relationship with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is moving forward, though there are some issues outstanding. DCR is beginning to hire employees and $4 million has been allocated for watershed land purchases in fiscal year 2005.
The annual Advisory Board outing has been scheduled for August 19. A tour of Deer Island as well as water views of CSO project locations has been planned.
Mr. Laskey reported the recently passed Transportation Bond Bill includes language authorizing the sale of MWRA-owned land at the Quincy Shipyard to the MBTA at ‘fair market value.’
The Blue Hill Covered Storage Tank Project is “bound up in an administrative nightmare.” In the wake of opposition from Friends of the Blue Hills, the Authority filed a request for an expedited hearing in December of 2003. Staff expects the hearing will be granted in December of this year. A decision is expected 90 days after that hearing.
APPROVALS
Appointment of Controller, Finance Division
The Board voted to approve the Executive Director’s recommendation to appoint Joseph F. McCann to the position of Controller in the Finance Division at an annual salary of $101,170.00 to be effective on the date designated by the Executive Director.
Supplement to Forty-Sixth Issuance Resolution
The Board voted to adopt the Forty-Sixth Issuance Resolution authorizing the issuance of up to $240 million of Massachusetts Water Resources Authority General Revenue Bonds (2004 Senior Refunding Series).
CONTRACT AWARDS
Chestnut Hill Connecting Mains, Final Pipe Connections - Preliminary Design and Dam Safety Inspection & Assessment: Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., Contract 6301
The Board voted to approve the recommendation of the Consultant Selection Panel to select Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. to provide preliminary design and dam safety inspection and assessment services in connection with the Chestnut Hill Connecting Mains-Final Pipe Connections project and to authorize the Executive Director, on behalf of the Authority, to execute a contract with Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $613,025.00 for a term of 365 days from the Notice to Proceed.
Mr. Laskey reminded the Board this item had been on the agenda for the June Board Meeting and was postponed at his request. Mr. Laskey said he wanted to make sure Metcalf & Eddy understood this is not an open-ended contract. He said he is now confident everyone involved is aware of the scope of the contract and the associated ground rules.
CONTRACT AMENDMENTS/CHANGE ORDERS
North Dorchester Bay/Reserved Channel Consolidation Conduits and Reserved Channel CSO Facility: Parsons Brinckerhoff/Metcalf & Eddy, JV, Contract 6220, Amendment 9
The Board voted to authorize the Executive Director, on behalf of the Authority, to approve Amendment 9 to extend the time for completion of Contract No. 6220 with Parsons Brinckerhoff/Metcalf & Eddy, JV, North Dorchester Bay/Reserved Channel Consolidation Conduits and Reserved Channel CSO Facility, by 60 months to March 31, 2011.
The amendment will remove resident engineering and inspection services from the scope of the contract and reallocate $5,873,000 of existing unspent funds for construction period services to complete the final design of the new storage tunnel and related design services. The amendment will also allocate the remaining $3,733,726 of the existing contract balance to fund engineering services during construction, services to support start-up and performance certification of the North Dorchester Bay CSO control facilities.
The contract is part of the $271 million (plus land acquisition) project to control CSO discharges in South Boston. It is the largest project in the Authority’s Capital Program over the next ten years.
Trash Removal Services at the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant: WRA-2178, BFI Services of Massachusetts, LLC, Amendment 1
The Board voted to authorize the Executive Director, on behalf of the Authority, to approve Amendment No. 1 to increase the amount of Contract No. WRA-2178 with BFI Waste Services of Massachusetts, LLC, Trash Removal Services at the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant, in an amount not to exceed $62,366.50 and to extend the time for completion by 365 calendar days to October 25, 2005.
Walnut Hill Water Treatment Plant – Ozonation Treatment Facilities: Barletta-Shea, J.V., Contract 6489, Change Order 85
The Board voted to authorize the Executive Director, on behalf of the Authority, to approve Change Order No. 85 to increase the amount of Contract No. 6489 with Barletta-Shea, J.V., Walnut Hill Water Treatment Plant – Ozonation Treatment Facilities, in an amount not to exceed $200,000.00.
The Board voted further to authorize the Executive Director to approve additional change orders as may be needed to Contract No. 6489 in amounts not to exceed the aggregate of $250,000.00 and 180 calendar days.
Frank Depaola explained this change order is part of a pre-emptive strategy on the part of the Authority. Disinfection trials at Norumbega yielded the following successful formula: fill the tank with chlorinated water, leave it until everything is killed off, go in and re-wash the tank and refill the tank off of the system. Mr. Laskey added since there is no way to make the 40,000 gallons of chlorinated water potable again, it is treated and discharged into the ForeBay. Staff is opting for this formula, which was successful at Norumbega, since the current industry standards are inadequate for tanks the large.
Update on Algal-Related Tastes and Odors
Director of Planning, Stephen Estes-Smargiassi, and Director of Western Operations, David Coppes, updated the Board on the Chrysosphaerella outbreak in the Wachusett Reservoir. The alga was first discovered just after July 4 when hundreds of complaints of metallic taste and odor were received. More than 600 complaints were logged in July alone, as compared to the average yearly number of taste/odor complaints, 100.
Wachusett Reservoir with copper sulfate six times over the past month. Periodic advisories have been both posted on the Authority’s website and sent to local communities. Each treatment cycle affects approximately three days worth of water. There has been surprisingly little press coverage.
Staff periodically monitors the Reservoir at varying depths. Samples are taken at three sites: the outside intake, the basin north and the middle treatment area. It is best to detect algae before their growth phase to prevent taste and odor problems. This particular alga has only been seen here four times over the past eighteen years. Its metallic taste is unique and it has a tendency to rebound following treatment. It blooms very deep – 7 to 9 meters. It is difficult to get copper sulfate to those strata.
Complaints continue to be received at the Authority and staff is explaining the situation to customers.
Ozone gas disinfection (to be carried out at the Walnut Hill Water Treatment Plant when it opens next spring) is known to effectively deal with taste and odor associated with nuisance algae blooms in other water systems. In-reservoir treatment technology, in the form of reservoir circulators, has been in development since 1993. This under ice/at depth technology is currently in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Staff is considering accelerating that schedule.
Ms. Hicks asked if any other water system has experienced a Chrysosphaerella outbreak. Mr. Estes-Smargiassi said Seattle did. They opted not to treat it and, instead, to mail advisories to their customers. Mr. Estes-Smargiassi also said the metallic taste appears to be a reaction to the chlorination treatment since a ‘fishy’ odor exists beforehand. Mr. Laskey added, “We are taking this very seriously and making sure we are prepared to treat if it recurs annually.”
Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant: Power Outage Follow-up Activity Report
Deer Island Treatment Plant Director, John Vetere updated the Board on developments following the April 3 and April 11 power outages on the island. Mr. Vetere reminded the Board the failures occurred in the Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) and a portion of the Direct Current (DC) control system. All relevant equipment has been replaced and tested, and two simulated ‘black starts’ have been conducted. The A and B buses will also be shut down independently, and a ‘black start’ test of the entire plant will be conducted in the future.
A team of electrical systems experts from CDM and Stone & Webster, working in conjunction with MWRA staff, recommended sixty-one changes and modifications. Eighteen of these have been implemented already. Mr. Vetere said staff is trying to get the most protection for the money. Too many back-ups, he said, can cause maintenance problems. The Authority plans on spending an additional $2 – 3 million over the next three years to improve the systems that were involved in the April power disruptions.
Representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) visited Deer Island on April 26 and the Authority received a letter on May 7 requesting more information on the outages and the permit violation; the Authority responded on June 7.
The same team of consultants looked at the Walnut Hill electrical systems with an eye towards applying the lessons learned at Deer Island. No significant changes were recommended, only small modifications.
This Summary does not include every item discussed by the Board, nor the full extent of the discussions. Please contact Tracy Wadsworth at the Advisory Board office with questions, comments or requests for additional information.