2026-10-19 - Water and Sewer Commission

00:07Order a roll call.

00:08>> Commissioner Grace here. Commissioner

00:10Matul absent. Commissioner O'Shea

00:13>> here.

00:15>> Commissioner Walsh aba

00:18>> here.

00:20>> All right. First on the agenda is

00:22minutes of the September meeting. People

00:25had a chance to take a look. And does

00:26anyone want to make a motion? Motion to

00:29accept second.

00:31>> All in favor?

00:32>> I.

00:34>> All right. Director's update. Jim is

00:36away. So Andy is uh showing me. So

00:39>> take it away.

00:40>> Um so so Jim has prepared um something

00:43that's in your package and I'll go

00:44through it and uh add my little

00:46editorial appropriate.

00:47>> Yes, that sounds wonderful.

00:49>> Okay. Uh so the water treatment plant um

00:51we're working on replacing a filter

00:54backwash valve. um that was identified

00:56as a as a problem up there. Um

01:00and Apex is working on um engineered

01:05documents for the roof replacement.

01:06That's that's really got to get a roof

01:08up there.

01:09>> Yep.

01:10>> Um the Quinn Quinn Road water storage

01:13tank. Um the repainting so we did a

01:16structural inspection of the vault last

01:18month. Um the plan is to bid it out this

01:21winter and work in the fall of 2027.

01:26Um the so it the paint work is uh very

01:29much temperature weather sensitive.

01:33>> Um and that's the best p best time to

01:35paint is in the fall.

01:36>> Okay.

01:36>> Um

01:38the Ipsswitch River dam removal. Um so

01:41we are working with the winning bidder

01:44on the submittals back and forth. Um

01:48the pump is the is the big big ticket

01:51item. We got to get the pump ordered.

01:52>> Okay.

01:53>> Um there's quite a quite a lead time on

01:55the pump, but we're confident we're

01:56going to have it by the time the um

02:00so we're we're we're not allowed to pump

02:03water after June 1st.

02:06>> And our intent is as soon as the

02:09regulatory window to pump ends, we

02:12install it.

02:12>> Okay. Got it. Okay. So that's that's

02:14kind of the uh

02:15>> So it would be next summer essentially.

02:16>> That's correct. Yep.

02:19>> Um the sewer treatment plant uh the

02:21incinerator is online um reducing the

02:25salts inventory down there which is um a

02:27step in the right direction. Um we had

02:31some back and forth with Violia

02:33regarding performance issues. Um and

02:35they gave us a written response to our

02:37concerns on the 25th September.

02:42um the O5 phase one sewer separation

02:46work. Um so we're currently designing

02:48that work. Um we have a conservation

02:52commission meeting tomorrow night.

02:55Um and then we expect the 90% design

02:59plans in at the end of this month.

03:02>> Okay.

03:02>> Um again, construction for that we're

03:05going to bid it this winter and the

03:07construction for that is going to begin

03:08in the spring.

03:09>> Okay.

03:11Uh we had a city council meeting on the

03:1422nd of September uh regarding the uh

03:18it's regarding the O5 phase one work

03:20which is work I just spoke of.

03:22>> Yeah.

03:22>> Um

03:24Stantech was in attendance and they had

03:26some slides and uh talked talked to

03:29council through it.

03:30>> Okay.

03:30>> Um and I believe that was a um as a

03:33result of

03:34>> discussions we had here.

03:35>> Okay. Um so that includes the alley

03:38street. Uh, we didn't talk about Al

03:40Street. We talked about No, we talked

03:42about O5.

03:44>> Okay. Yeah. Okay.

03:46>> Um, SCADA upgrades, new cameras, um, LAN

03:51computers, working on integrating these,

03:55um, [clears throat]

03:57the Wi-Fi tough books.

04:00We're approaching the end of this that

04:02project. Um and we're actually using the

04:04tough books for the uh lead service

04:09documentation. So the meter division is

04:11using them right now

04:12>> to uh document the um private side of

04:16the service when they install meters.

04:19>> So we have um one of our big problems is

04:21the and I'll get to that um under

04:23business is the amount of services that

04:27we don't know definitively what they're

04:29made of. Mhm.

04:30>> So, this is going to help every meter

04:32they install, they take a picture of it

04:33and uh check. You can't always tell what

04:36it is, but they're going to do their

04:38best.

04:38>> Okay, that's great.

04:40>> Um the website and Facebook's been

04:42updated. Um

04:45and the wind turbine is online and

04:47producing electricity when windy.

04:50Um and then the um lead service line

04:54like I mentioned we'll discuss that

04:56under business but that's going to be uh

04:58>> it's going to require some resources of

05:00of the commission. So

05:01>> yeah couple of questions. Um did were

05:05you part of the meeting with someone

05:07from Violia like an executive came to

05:09visit? Right.

05:10>> Hasn't happened yet.

05:11>> Oh hasn't happened yet.

05:13>> Oh is it this month?

05:14>> It's this month. Sorry. Okay. Um

05:18that's right. Uh the back and forth that

05:21you [clears throat] mentioned um with

05:23the around the issues, is that something

05:24you can share with the commissioners?

05:27>> Um sure.

05:28>> The letters back and forth.

05:29>> Yeah, I can help to be bottom line.

05:33>> Okay. Just I think it's helpful for us

05:34to see it.

05:35>> Um okay. I didn't have anything. Tom,

05:38you got anything? No, you good. I'm

05:40>> good.

05:41>> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Um,

05:48all right. Project updates. Uh, Matt,

05:51water treatment plant.

05:53Uh, the water and so is in compliance

05:55with all state and federal drink water

05:57regulations. Uh, the reservoir capacity

06:00as of September 30th was 43.4.

06:03Uh, average for that time of year is

06:0562.4.

06:07As of yesterday, the reservoir capacity

06:09was 42.4.

06:11So the rain did help a little bit slow

06:13down the draw down.

06:14>> The draw down. Yeah.

06:16>> Uh September we had 4.83 inches of rain.

06:21Uh the average is 3.84. So pretty good

06:25end of the month there.

06:27Average uh consumption was 9.21 million

06:31gallons and the average for September is

06:33uh 10.14.

06:36And then nine out of 10 contracted

06:38position to filter the plant. Uh, Viol

06:40is just looking to hire a maintenance

06:42technician.

06:43>> Okay.

06:48Um,

06:49CSO update.

06:51>> I'll take that.

06:52>> Oh, sorry.

06:54>> Yeah, I'll take that one. Um, so PGS or

06:57GOSO continued the closeout tasks for

07:00the Westland uh, phase four and five

07:03work. Um they've removed a lot of the

07:05construction equipment from the layown

07:06areas in the city that were there for a

07:08while and some of the islands. Um today

07:10they were out uh starting the final

07:13paving which was under the phase 2 um

07:16pump station work. So that area in front

07:17of commercial street and Bennett that

07:20intersection

07:22um and Stantech is reviewing the

07:24televised inspection footage for the new

07:27drains to verify the water tightness

07:28that there's no um bad leaks coming in

07:31or infiltration.

07:33Um Andy and I had met with Stant to

07:36review comments for the 60% design plans

07:38for phase one of the ' 05 separation.

07:41We're meeting with them again this week

07:43to review some of the carryover

07:45specifics from that meeting. And then as

07:47Andy said, um there's the Concom meeting

07:50tomorrow and we're expecting the 90% um

07:54designs this month, the end of this

07:56month. Um the SRF construction loan

08:00application was submitted to the state

08:02the beginning of this month which is

08:03great. And then we are continuing the

08:07bi-weekly coordination meetings um with

08:10the city of Len National Grid and other

08:12stakeholders.

08:15>> That's it.

08:20>> Um beach updates.

08:24>> Eric from Apex is here. Um

08:27um so uh between the noracer and now we

08:31got out and did go out and do some

08:33followup on some of the past historical

08:36higher uh concentration areas. We still

08:39found even with the you know almost 3

08:41ines of rain, we still found a lot of

08:42dry spots. So we sandbagged the initial

08:45day and came back over the next two

08:47days. Um we did collect some samples.

08:48Data has just started coming back in

08:51from that. We won't see the

08:52pharmaceuticals for a couple more weeks,

08:54but the bacteria and pneumonia started

08:55coming in today. Um, in response to

08:58that, we're going to be going out

09:00Saturday to go to multi-unit properties

09:02on Timson. Um, basically

09:07uh to try and get into units we have not

09:09physically been in. We've had other

09:10units uh test negative for elicit

09:13connections, but we want to double check

09:15if there's any uh multiple laterals

09:18within the same property. So, there's

09:20about 10 properties. It could be around

09:22two dozen total units, but we're going

09:23to go out Saturday to try to do the die

09:25test directly. Um, so Natalie and Karen

09:28will be reaching out to get some

09:29commission support for that on Saturday

09:31because we found that's the most

09:32productive day to catch people at home.

09:35Um, other than that, um, we are moving

09:40ahead with getting the story map that

09:42we've shared. Um, that is going through

09:44final revisions uh, in the next day or

09:46so. without getting shared with the

09:48group hopefully this week. Um, and then

09:50there's been some coordination with Sam

09:52on trying to get into the about 8 8

09:55properties total um that have been

09:57nonresponsive or refusal for access for

10:00D testing. So, that's ongoing as well.

10:03Um, and then we will want to catch up

10:05and regroup as the O5 phase one comes up

10:09to see if there's a potential for

10:11inclusion of some of that pilot area in

10:13the U middle school area just to be

10:16included as quantities for lining if it

10:18aligns with some of the scope work that

10:20Stantex team is working on. um because

10:23that was a a goal for the prior to beach

10:26season or and the 27 beach season to try

10:29and pilot RNR for some of the stubborn

10:32streets that are still coming up high

10:33hits.

10:36So that's that's the update for now.

10:41>> We'll cover some other things in the

10:42subcommittee notes too as well.

10:45>> Thank you.

10:46>> Um wastewater

10:48>> wastewater treatment plan update.

10:51Okay. So, for the period from August

10:5415th through September, I'm sorry,

10:56September 15th through October 19th,

10:59average flow was 16.6 million gallons

11:01per day. Um, for the month of September,

11:04the average BOD was 44 milligs per liter

11:07and the average TSF was 41 milligs per

11:10liter. These numbers are indicative of a

11:13market improvement, okay, of where we

11:15had been, especially for the months of

11:17June and July when the incinerator was

11:20cooled down and taken offline

11:22>> so that the solids building upgrades

11:24could happen. Uh we talked about that in

11:26previous meetings. Um various components

11:29in the solids building were either

11:31replaced, refurbished or repaired and um

11:36not the incinerator itself,

11:38>> right? But the incinerator needed to be

11:39offline in order for that work to take

11:41place. Um the incinerator went back

11:44online in early September and for the

11:47period the sludge cake was fed into the

11:49incinerator with 355 tons incinerated

11:54which is great. Um piping and electrical

11:58connections for the F swing pump. Um, a

12:02swing pump is a pump that pushes a

12:05little slug of sludge into the pipe that

12:08feeds the incinerator.

12:10>> Currently, there's only one swing pump

12:12down there. Starting this week, there

12:14will be two. Um,

12:16>> the piping and electrical conditions for

12:18what's known as the F swing pump were

12:21completed. So, start of the pump take

12:23will take place this week. Uh this pump

12:26was purchased and installed by Violia to

12:28provide redundancy for the sledge cake

12:30feed system into the incinerator when

12:33either of the swing pumps need repair or

12:36maintenance.

12:37Um piping and electrical connections

12:39were also completed for the centrifuge

12:42what's known as centuge number two.

12:44Again, much like the swing pump, there

12:46was only one centuge working and if it

12:49needed maintenance or repair, it you

12:52couldn't use it feeds the swing pump

12:54which the pump feeds the sludge into the

12:58[clears throat] incinerator. So there

13:01will be redundancy for both the centuge

13:04and the swing pumps. So that means we

13:08won't have the won't have to stop stop

13:10operations incineration operations

13:13>> while repairs are taking place or just

13:15regular maintenance. Um we've talked

13:18about primary clarifiers and primary

13:22clarifier B. The repairs are completed

13:24as online and working. They have drained

13:27primary clarifier C uh drained and

13:30inspected and necessary repairs to the

13:33flight system are ongoing.

13:3632 of 33 positions are filled at the

13:38plant.

13:40And now we can talk about the back and

13:43forth that um Andy alluded to um between

13:47Violia and LWSC. On September 3rd,

13:512026, LWSC issued a letter to Violia

13:55stating that the commission remains very

13:57concerned about the non-compliance with

13:59the plant with the Nifty's permit. A

14:02meeting between the management teams of

14:04both LDWSC and Violia was held on

14:07Wednesday, September 16th. On September

14:1025th, Violia submitted a response to the

14:12commission's letter and provided a

14:14schedule for the plant to get back in

14:16permit limit compliance.

14:19Uh the response letter and schedule that

14:23provided remain available for LWSC to

14:26provide to DPA should they ask for it.

14:32I have Sam Sam Sullivan here who is the

14:35plant manager for Violia down at the

14:37wastewater treatment plant and he's here

14:39to answer any questions the board may

14:41have.

14:44>> Question.

14:45>> Uh I was going through the September

14:46report and um I noticed the LIN pump

14:49station. So the uh hours of maintenance

14:5269.36 hours. Is that just one pump

14:55station? I was

14:56>> that's all the pump stations. So when

14:58they go out and they do the pump

14:59stations, it generates it under one

15:01heading.

15:02>> So all the pump stations are underneath.

15:03Okay.

15:03>> How many pump stations?

15:04>> We have the 13 plus the uh

15:06>> 13 [clears throat] the storm water

15:08station.

15:09>> And um the other item was the uh hours

15:12for the uh primary clarifier. It's 528

15:15hours.

15:15>> So that's just to do one clarifier.

15:17Yeah. That's for the month.

15:18>> Yeah. With with multiple there's some

15:20other guys on it. Multiple guys working

15:22several days a week on it.

15:23>> Yeah. It's it's

15:24>> it's a big project.

15:25>> Sure. Yeah. Sure.

15:27um the um sampling at Demarcus.

15:31>> So I saw you guys did some sampling

15:33there. One of them was out of compliance

15:36a little bit.

15:37>> Mhm.

15:37>> Um what do you do in that case?

15:39>> Uh we don't do anything. We just report

15:41that to you guys.

15:42>> I can answer that. Um they report it to

15:44us and that gets handled through our IP

15:48coordinator who is Joe Boschain who is

15:52works through Andy Ruth. He's in the

15:54engineering office. And typically when

15:56that happens to them, a search charge is

15:58issued to the industry.

15:59>> Yeah.

15:59>> So they pay for it.

16:00>> Right. Right. I'm not looking to uh

16:03discourage business in the city. Right.

16:05>> It's the last thing I want to do is sort

16:06of Right.

16:07>> Okay. Um

16:09uh that's all I have for that.

16:11>> Great. Thank you.

16:12>> Okay.

16:15>> Quick question. Um so what is the

16:17schedule to get back within permit

16:18compliance?

16:19>> Um we're hoping either October or

16:21November.

16:23Right now, we had we had a pretty

16:24significant drop in the the TSS BOD the

16:26last couple months and if we continue

16:28that trend, we should be on track for

16:30the end of October, the beginning of

16:31November.

16:32>> Sorry, can you spell out those acronyms

16:34that you just said?

16:34>> I'm sorry. BD is biological biochemical

16:37oxygen demand.

16:38>> Okay.

16:38>> And then TSS is total suspended solids.

16:41So, those are the two parameters that we

16:42measure coming out of the afternoon.

16:45>> Our permanent limits are 30 and 30

16:47milligrams per liter. We're currently at

16:50441.

16:52>> And that's what's being discharged into

16:53the the harbor.

16:54>> Yes.

16:57>> BOD is like strength of waste water. TSS

17:01is total suspended solids. Uh just to

17:04give you a idea of how much improvement

17:06has happened for the uh month of July.

17:10BOD was 92 milligrams per liter and CSS

17:13was 73. So we've come down quite a bit.

17:18What was it in the months before then?

17:20>> Um, I can tell you in June it was 79. T

17:25BOD and TSS was 53.

17:28>> Um, do you want to go back to I got from

17:31January?

17:32>> Sure.

17:32>> Well, I'll just put it this way. How

17:34many months of those have we been out of

17:36compliance

17:37>> of the calendar year? Yeah.

17:38>> Um, nine.

17:40>> Wow. Okay. The plant has been out of

17:45compliance basically since the mandatory

17:48capital improvements project started

17:50which I believe was about 2 years ago

17:52this month October of 2024.

17:56So that was the $85 million project that

17:58I was telling you about.

18:00>> Um that was [snorts] completed

18:02[clears throat]

18:02>> what was it? February.

18:04>> Uh it was officially completed. Yeah.

18:07This year. Is that saying February this

18:08year?

18:09>> Yeah. this year, February 26,

18:12and it's going to take some time for the

18:14plant to be able to recover this. And D

18:18knows about this.

18:19>> They knew that we would be out of

18:21compliance and they are giving us some

18:23leeway. Now that the plant has now that

18:27the projects are complete and the

18:29incinerator is back online, we're seeing

18:32the numbers come down and like Sam said,

18:34they're expecting it to be either next

18:36month or early or November for full

18:40compliance.

18:41>> We had some very promising numbers

18:42coming in. We're usually about two weeks

18:44behind on our live results because the

18:46BOD test is a 5-day test and it takes

18:48some time to do the live report. So, the

18:49numbers that we've seen coming from the

18:51beginning of October look very good.

18:53What is uh what has been the biggest

18:55factor that has helped with the numbers?

18:57Is it the incinerator coming back?

18:58>> The incinerator being back online. Uh we

19:00can process sledge. So we can do just

19:02over a ton of sludge uh an hour when

19:05it's online 24/7 365. When we were

19:08offline, we were relying on what could

19:10be trucked out of the facility via

19:12trailers. So we were pretty much

19:14whatever Cassella could get us is what

19:15we took, which was uh nine trailers a

19:17week, which we could facilitate 14. We

19:20would like to get two two a day, seven

19:22days a week, but they could not do that

19:24because it goes to the landfill. The

19:25landfills aren't always open.

19:27>> So that was kind of a limiting factor

19:29for that downtime.

19:31>> Of course, of course.

19:32>> So um the primary clarifiers, they've

19:34been uh an issue for for many years. So

19:38how how often have all five of them been

19:40running fully?

19:42>> Um since the start of the construction,

19:45most we've had a lot of issues with

19:46them. uh prior before the construction.

19:49I would say that most of them were

19:51running pretty well at you know you

19:53might have one down at a time or

19:54something like that.

19:57>> I took over my job in February of 26 and

20:01I haven't seen all five of them running

20:03yet

20:05>> right now. So there's each clarifier has

20:08two bays if you will.

20:10>> So there's 10 sets of flights right now.

20:13is five of the 10 are operating. Once

20:17clarifier C is on, that'll be seven. And

20:20then the plan is to go to clarifier

20:22>> D

20:23>> E and then D

20:24>> and then D. So this is something BA

20:27knows about. This is something B that

20:28the commission has pressured them about

20:30and they are addressing it.

20:32>> That's the the first step to the entire

20:34process. We get those going everything

20:35else works. The idea is to give the

20:38aeration system what it needs to because

20:39you have a it's a living organism

20:41essentially. So getting

20:42>> primaries is is just settling, right?

20:45>> That's yeah, it's just a settling tank.

20:46That's all it is.

20:47>> But this the secondaries are so settling

20:50everything out of the primaries.

20:51Otherwise, your your your oxygen demands

20:54considerably higher. You have it's

20:55incredibly difficult to treat once it

20:57gets, you know,

20:58>> overloading it essentially. So we do

21:00monitor the what goes into the primaries

21:02and what comes out of the primaries. And

21:03we we test those several times a week so

21:06we know what's going out, what's coming

21:07in. um the numbers going out of the

21:09primary clarifiers are now matching what

21:11we need for the uration system to do

21:12what it needs to do.

21:15>> And just to sort of clarify

21:18that also should help as the order

21:20correct.

21:21>> Yeah. The plan needs to have all

21:24processes, all components working in

21:26order for the plant to work.

21:27>> If it doesn't, the compliance numbers

21:30will be up and odors as well.

21:32>> You get an upset.

21:34>> So plan is basically better than an

21:35upset state for two years now.

21:39>> But again, D is aware of this and

21:41they've been giving us some

21:49good.

21:50>> Can I ask some questions about the

21:51water?

21:52>> Go back to Matt.

21:53>> Yeah, just a second.

21:54>> That's fine.

21:54>> Matt, I just wonder about um the uh dire

21:58situation of the of the drought. Do we

22:00think uh we're going to need

22:02quin water?

22:04>> I'm still keeping an eye on it. Um

22:06>> at what point do we

22:07>> typically 35% capacity is when yeah we

22:12we tested all the K connections so we're

22:14ready to go but it's not thank you

22:20>> any more questions for

22:23>> any more questions for the wastewater

22:25side

22:26>> if not I'm going to let Sam get out of

22:28here he's uh lives in Randolph

22:30>> I got to go south the city sure be

22:33>> Yep

22:34be

22:36since you guys have been there.

22:40>> Thanks. I'll

22:41>> see you tomorrow.

22:42>> So, we can get a copy of the letters.

22:44That'd be great. The board

22:45>> sure

22:46>> back and forth and is or is

22:49>> I have properties here, but I can email

22:51that'll be better. Yeah. Okay. Um, and

22:55so, uh, Lin Water received their

22:57response and are they is Lin Water with

23:00the response that they received or is it

23:02still in discussions or

23:03>> uh, we're satisfied?

23:05>> Okay.

23:05>> Yep.

23:05>> All right. Thank you.

23:08>> Um, I think I have your email address,

23:10but before I leave

23:11>> or or send it to me,

23:13>> I can you

23:20>> Okay. uh business. Um Andy, do you want

23:24to take this or Ryan?

23:26>> Sure. So um this is in regards to the

23:31lead service uh

23:35program, lead service removal program.

23:37Um the US Environmental Protection

23:42Agency established new requirements for

23:44public water systems to monitor,

23:47identify and remove all sources of lead

23:49from drinking water. The rule is

23:51intended to reduce community exposure to

23:53lead and drinking water by requiring

23:56water systems to maintain service line

23:58inventories, improve community

24:00communication, strengthen lead

24:03monitoring requirements, and replace all

24:05lead service lines and galvanized

24:08requiring replacement service lines.

24:11Based on the most recent statewide

24:12inventory, Mass D has identified Lynn as

24:15one of the 25 communities in

24:17Massachusetts with the greatest need.

24:20Current records show approximately 224

24:23known lead service lines and 59 aging

24:27galvanized service lines, plus 7,765

24:32lines whose material is still unknown

24:35and must be identified and replaced if

24:37they turn out to be lead.

24:40Um, before November 1st of 2027,

24:44the commission must have completed the

24:45following.

24:47We have to update the service line

24:49inventory.

24:50We have to update the lead service line

24:53replacement plan. And we have to develop

24:55procedures to comply with enhanced

24:57monitoring, reporting, [clears throat]

24:59and public communication requirements.

25:03So between now and

25:05November of 2027, we our plan is to um

25:12go through the inspections and

25:17we're we're employing a predictive model

25:20to tell us which of these 7,700 unknown

25:24services

25:26um are [snorts] led.

25:29Um it's I don't quite understand it, but

25:32it's it's something that the D um

25:34accepts. Um and to do so, we're we're

25:38applying for an SRF

25:41planning loan application of totaling

25:44$400,000.

25:46After

25:49November 1st of 2027, we have to that's

25:52when it we get kind of locked in and we

25:54have to remove 10% of the lead services

25:57each year. Um, and now it's going to be

25:59an ownorous ownorous undertaking. We've

26:03applied for a construction loan

26:04application in the total of 12 million

26:0712.67 million for that endeavor. Um, and

26:13I'm hopeful tonight you guys can vote on

26:18the uh the motion needed by our bond

26:19council to apply for these SR. There's

26:22two grants. One is the planning 400,000

26:25and the second is for 12.67 million for

26:29construction.

26:33>> And just to clarify the construction is

26:34that um we actually have to pay for the

26:38removal and putting in new lines that

26:40are

26:41>> Yep.

26:41>> Okay.

26:42>> And a lot of it is investigations into

26:44whether you know you have these unknown

26:46services. You have to dig it up at the

26:48at the surface box and look at it and

26:52say, "All right, that's copper and

26:53that's galvanized on that side." So,

26:56[clears throat]

26:56>> assuming we did 10% a year, how long

27:00would that take roughly?

27:01>> Uh, 10 years to you have 10 years to get

27:04them done.

27:05>> Requirement. Yeah, that's part of the

27:06law.

27:07>> And is that do we expect that to be $12

27:10million per year or $12 million for the

27:1210 years?

27:13Um,

27:16that's a good question, but I don't know

27:17the answer to.

27:22>> Are both of these um are these loans or

27:25grants?

27:27>> So, the uh they're both loans, but the

27:30construction loan, the larger of the

27:31two,

27:32>> um the state is offering 40% debt

27:36forgiveness.

27:37>> Yeah.

27:37>> So, basically, it's 60 cents on the

27:40dollar we're paying for this for this

27:42work. Okay.

27:43>> It's still it's still a lot of money,

27:44but

27:45>> um and I don't foresee that

27:48>> um continuing throughout the throughout

27:51the uh this is a federal law, so all

27:54public water suppliers are going through

27:56this. Um so we need to strike while

27:59they're offering it basically.

28:00>> How how long is what's the loan term for

28:02the big one construction? So I know our

28:05other projects are like 30 years out. Do

28:06you know how

28:07>> I would imagine it's the same just

28:09because it's the same loan program.

28:10>> Okay. Um

28:13>> I think the planning was a little

28:14shorter.

28:15>> Yeah. But I think we'll shoot for the

28:18third year for other

28:19>> Yeah. Okay.

28:26>> Can you um just I guess for other

28:28people's you know edification when you

28:30find a lead service line can you just

28:32tell us like what's the process? So you

28:35find Robin has a lead service line. So

28:38then what would the what is the is do we

28:41have a process yet for then how we go

28:43about removing that?

28:44>> Um replace that. Okay. So you send her a

28:47note saying we'd like to remove your you

28:49have a lead service line. Yep. Uh we're

28:51offering to remove it free of charge. Um

28:56please let us into your house. I'm I'm

28:58like literally asking like how does that

29:01>> um it would be pretty seamless. Um it

29:02would well if we have to get in the

29:05house it's not seamless. So, cuz

29:06otherwise you can just Well, you're

29:07going to have to reconnect it to the

29:09you're going to have to disconnect it

29:10from the meter, right?

29:11>> Yeah. There's two there's two sides to

29:13the water service. There's the private

29:14side from the um let me start with the

29:16public side from the water man in the

29:18street to the shut off in the curb.

29:20That's the public side. And then the

29:23private side goes from the shut off in

29:24the curb to the meter in the basement.

29:27Um, typically if you had a say if there

29:30was a leak, if if the leak was on the

29:32private side, the homeowner would be

29:35responsible for it. Leak on the city

29:37side, city's responsible for it. If we

29:39discover lead service, the city's on the

29:41hook to replace the whole thing.

29:42>> Double thing.

29:42>> Yep. So, it's not going to cost the

29:44homeowner.

29:47[clears throat]

29:48>> So, the 40% forgiveness, is that because

29:50we're one of the top 25 in the state or

29:54is that just something that we get

29:55regardless?

29:57Not sure. Not sure how they came into

29:58that number.

29:59>> I don't believe it's a LIN specific

30:01thing based on the on um material that

30:04CDM has shared with me, but I don't know

30:05that 100%.

30:07>> I'm just curious.

30:09>> I can look into it and report back.

30:11>> Sure.

30:14>> And so if we approve this I'm sorry, you

30:16said that the the project you anticipate

30:19starting in November of this year,

30:20November 1st.

30:21>> Um yeah, the planning the planning stuff

30:23we're doing currently.

30:24>> Currently. Okay. And the and the

30:26replacement will start uh November of uh

30:302027.

30:31>> Oh, it starts in November. Okay. Sorry.

30:33Yep. That makes totally more sense. Got

30:35it. Okay.

30:36>> So, we've been

30:36>> started out and then you do the

30:38>> right. And we've been we've been working

30:40on the planning.

30:41>> Yeah.

30:41>> On our own nickel.

30:43>> Um we are currently

30:44>> because our information is online,

30:46right? We have a I've looked at it. We

30:47have a you go on our website, you can

30:48find what we what our records show for

30:51service line

30:52>> materials and whatnot. So

30:54>> yeah,

30:55>> we've mailed letters to folks.

30:56>> Yeah.

30:57>> Yeah.

31:00>> Good question. Is there is there any

31:02advantage to uh

31:03>> just voting on the planning 400,000 and

31:07then kick the 12 million down the road a

31:10bit or should we vote? I I I caution

31:13against kicking it down the road a bit

31:15this just based on this 40% u debt

31:17forgiveness

31:22and this board would vote on any

31:24contract that's issued as well. Right.

31:27So right now we're we're voting or I'm

31:30hopeful that we're voting on um

31:33giving us the ability to apply for these

31:35grants.

31:36>> Yeah.

31:39the the construction project to replace

31:41these lead services is going to be a

31:43huge contract that you as a board will

31:46have to go on as well.

31:47>> Yeah.

31:53>> And I'm just looking at the verbology in

31:56here. It says the amount not to exceed

31:5812.675

32:01for now. So that's what we're voting on

32:02for now.

32:03>> Yes, let's go.

32:08All right. Um, move to adopt the

32:10resolutions prepared by bond council in

32:13connection with the commission's clean

32:14water trust loans for the lead service

32:17line replacement and test pit

32:19construction program and related

32:20planning.

32:22>> Second

32:23local.

32:24>> Yeah.

32:24>> Okay. Commissioner Grace. Yes.

32:28Commissioner Matul absent. Commissioner

32:30O'Shea.

32:31>> Yes.

32:31>> Commissioner Walsh absent. Commissioner

32:34Salona.

32:34>> Yes. Excellent.

32:38Thank you. You're welcome.

32:42Uh the next two item on the agenda are

32:44relates to the Kings Beach subcommittee

32:46uh meeting uh that we had um last month

32:51uh in this very room uh with some of you

32:54all. And um it was I thought it was a

32:57phenomenal meeting. we got to see the

32:59the draft mockup of the um the

33:02dashboard, the story map, the the

33:04everythings. Um but we gave some good

33:07feedback to it and I'm looking forward

33:09to it going online. I think it's going

33:10to be really helpful for people to get a

33:12sense of all the work that's been going

33:14on and they can do their own analyses

33:15and look at all those sorts of things.

33:17So, do you have some things you wanted

33:19to say about us?

33:21>> Um yeah, I mean just uh everybody should

33:23have a copy of the agenda. Um and then

33:26um some of the big takeaways that we

33:28learned during the subcommittee. Um just

33:30some things to to share that are very

33:32big picture. Um it was Mike and myself

33:35which are part of the Kings Beach

33:37subcommittee. Um we had some of the

33:39senior leadership including um

33:43sure I read all the names

33:45for anyone. Um we had the chief engineer

33:48Andy Hall, assistant chief engineer

33:51Brianna Hughes. uh Apex senior project

33:53manager Natalie Palmershine. Sorry if I

33:56said that wrong. And then of course our

33:57executive director Jim Arsenal and

34:00executive secretary Amy Bowden.

34:02Um as

34:06um Mike mentioned um something that was

34:08really important to the committee is

34:10subcommittee is making sure that u we're

34:12getting the information out there about

34:14what we're doing um and allowing people

34:17to understand and be able to look at the

34:19information. So we want to make that

34:20really easy. So, thank you for for

34:22making some headway on that. Um,

34:26we talked a lot about um some of the

34:28areas that um you know why this has been

34:32such a kind of a difficult process. Um

34:35you know it's a very methodical process.

34:37Um one of the challenges about

34:38contamination always isn't always

34:40consistent. Um so location may show

34:43elevated results during one sampling

34:45event and then nothing another time. So,

34:48um, it makes a kind of the systematic

34:50approach to persistence very important.

34:52Um,

34:55Apex mentioned that they're going to be

34:57going out to doing some additional um,

34:59canvasing, which is great. Um, they did,

35:03um, identify many areas for additional

35:06investigation around Tensson, Holland,

35:08Varian, and Jackson, Adam Street

35:10Extension, and Sanderson. Um, and

35:16we already talked about the uh

35:18additional outreach and enforcement

35:19options when necessary. So, thanks for

35:21talking about that today. Um, we talked

35:23about potential um pilot sewer lining

35:26project um that would be part of what's

35:28going out with the uh the cso form five

35:31project next year. Um, we talked about

35:33transparency and and public reporting.

35:36Um

35:38and then the additional dry weather

35:40sampling was planned for October which

35:41you had already talked about. Um,

35:45so sorry a lot of this is uh kind of

35:48talking about it again, but um the other

35:52thing too that I think was a kind of a

35:54big takeaway was um even though some of

35:56the areas have been die tested u making

35:58sure that we go to the individual units

36:00especially in the multifamily homes um

36:03as there can be uh there's the potential

36:05for additional lines that are maybe

36:07coming in that we can catch other ways.

36:09So, um, I just wanted to sort of

36:12highlight that we're very thankful for

36:15everybody's time and everybody's

36:16commitment to continuing to look at this

36:18issue, um, and getting the information

36:20out to the public. So, um, it was a good

36:22meeting and just appreciate everybody's

36:25continued engagement in it.

36:30>> So, you want to mention the um, ling

36:32pipe.

36:34>> Uh, I mentioned that it was part of

36:37state four and five bed. Okay.

36:40>> Okay.

36:42>> Right. Anyone have any questions?

36:44>> Oh, sure.

36:44>> So, outside of the study, is there um

36:47like a a daily sampling done of the

36:50effluent or is it for the beach? How

36:53does the beach determine that they're

36:55shut down?

36:56>> So, um well, there's two. Uh there was a

37:00parallel study that was done this

37:02summer. Um it was funded by the city and

37:06town of Swampskit where they were taking

37:08daily samples Monday through Friday from

37:10both the swampsuit and the layout falls.

37:12Um that report hasn't been issued yet.

37:14They finished um they were trying to do

37:17some wet weather sampling associated

37:20with the noraster to kind of do the

37:23final round that came through at the end

37:24of the month. Um so that report should

37:27get issued sometime later this fall. Um

37:29but they were doing dailies from both.

37:32um that was new and that is not the one

37:35that closes the beach. This was all just

37:37um screening and sampling that was being

37:39done for information gathering. Um but

37:43um samples are collected out in the

37:46water. It's I can't remember the

37:48distance because it varies based on

37:49where the tide is at any time. Those are

37:51the official Department of Public Health

37:53samples that open and close the beach.

37:55So that's separate. It's not done by the

37:58commission or the town directly. Um and

38:00then there's supplemental screening that

38:02is done by DCR for some of their

38:03properties as well.

38:06>> So how much of an impact does the tide

38:08have on that outfall?

38:10>> Uh we've seen tidal impacts as far up as

38:12the MBTA tracks on the stream

38:16during the right conditions. Um that

38:18means debris and sediment that is coming

38:21off the beach does get washed up into

38:23the main culvert. So that was another

38:26thing that the summer study was looking

38:27at is they were taking sediment samples

38:29from inside the culvers to see if there

38:31was potentially a kind of a resident

38:33bacterial community that could be

38:34contributing to some of the things

38:36because the samples are getting taken

38:38our samples for the ID program were

38:40taken upstream. Now is there and like

38:42when the UV study was underway they were

38:44seeing you know essentially very low

38:47levels leaving the UV unit and then the

38:49alpha was showing an increase. So what's

38:51happening? Why is there like a increase

38:53in bacteria between the discharge from

38:55the UV pilot from two summers ago to

38:57that? So there was some thought as

38:59potentially that the sediments could

39:01become kind of harboring some of that

39:02bacterial growth. Um but that's that

39:06their report will be issued by

39:07Kleinfelder before the end of the year I

39:09believe is their current schedule.

39:11>> Are you going to look at that before

39:13Kleinfelder releases it? I'm just

39:14curious. uh it hasn't been issued yet

39:16but yeah I mean it'll be shared among

39:18the uh Kings Beach steering committee or

39:21which has representatives from the town

39:24the commission and the city so it gets

39:27it will get issued probably to the group

39:34>> and EPA was out

39:38guess that was probably about a month

39:39ago now they did an annual

39:41reconnaissance visit in both Swampskit

39:43and Lynn and they also Alo visited I

39:45believe they went to the storm water

39:46pump station to take a look at that to

39:48collect some just general samples which

39:51is consistent with what kind of started

39:53the resurgence in the ID program for the

39:55commission. That was back in like 2022,

39:58maybe 2021 if I look at the dates right.

40:01But

40:01>> [clears throat]

40:01>> um so um but they did we did help

40:06coordinate their field team to make sure

40:07they're going to locations that we had

40:09good institutional knowledge on because

40:11it all looks pretty different once you

40:13pop the covers and whether you're in a

40:15sewer versus a drain versus one that's

40:17chronically dry versus one that's

40:19regularly flowing. So, we did actually

40:21meet uh with their field team out in the

40:23field to kind of make sure that they had

40:24the, you know, good information on where

40:27they were collecting their samples,

40:34>> but we have not seen EDPA data yet.

40:37>> You haven't seen EPA data yet?

40:39>> No. Uh we did reach out to them about a

40:41week ago and it's coming because they

40:42were pro they're processing it all at

40:44their lab. Um I can't remember

40:47once it was in Nic, but I could be

40:48wrong. summer of Massachusetts. So they

40:50were but they were doing their own

40:51pharmaceuticals, bacteria, ammonia and

40:53all the like. So we do they will share

40:55it with us. They've shared it in the

40:57past once they get the data back. So

41:02>> I can suspend the rules and recognize

41:04Andrea. Do you have a question?

41:06>> Yeah. Would it be okay to ask the

41:07question? Sure please.

41:08>> Um [clears throat]

41:09hi Andrea Moore um Swam resident and I

41:13had a question. Um, as we were going

41:16through and looking at the bannual

41:18consent decrees from both Lyn and

41:20Swampscott, um, one pretty big

41:22difference we noticed from those two um,

41:25Swamp Scots I think started in 2016 or

41:272017 and then Lynn started in I believe

41:292022. But um for phase one of the

41:33Stacy's Brook rehab in Swampscott, the

41:35very first thing that they did was they

41:38did the smoke testing of like over

41:4021,000 linear feet in like the that

41:43catchment area.

41:44>> Mhm. And one thing I noticed from the

41:48Lynn reports over the past from I think

41:512022 to 2025 is what we analyzed so far

41:54is that over that total spans of time

41:5710,000 linear feet have been done um of

42:00smoke testing and it was typically in

42:03like small spurts. So it was like a

42:04thousand here 3,000 4,000 there. I'm

42:07wondering if we're experiencing in Lynn

42:10the difficulty of door knockocking and

42:13letting people in to do die testing. Is

42:16smoke testing a preliminary replacement

42:20to do a larger swath of area more

42:23systematically and one that would not

42:25require door knocking?

42:27>> So we did have done some limited smoke

42:30testing. We struggled with the ability

42:33for that to be effective because a lot

42:35of the major trunk lines on the limb

42:37side of the system are former combined

42:39sewer. So we're talking very large

42:40diameter pipes and controlling the smoke

42:42to get it through the smaller

42:44>> anything that was interconnected. We

42:46were we did Chestnut Street alongside

42:48Lin English in the park and we were

42:50having it travel very long distances but

42:52not having any local impact out any of

42:54the any of the any potential sources on

42:58chestnut. So we kind of went and then we

43:00did it near the middle school.

43:01Ultimately we ended up finding a lot of

43:03inconclusive smoke results that led us

43:06to need to die test anyway and

43:08ultimately that fed the decision to

43:10actually CCTV so camera all 18 miles of

43:14drainage.

43:14>> Okay. And it's not to say we won't

43:17potentially leverage it again, but since

43:21we found it to be inconclusive where we

43:23had analytical data saying something's

43:25going on down here in the middle school

43:27general area and then we had died test

43:28that found a few CCTV that

43:32>> led that preceded that that it really we

43:34were finding we were actually smoke

43:36testing sewer and drain because we were

43:39getting such we would get some

43:41inconclusive results that led us to

43:43certain properties and then we diet test

43:44and they confirmed sanitary sewer, so

43:46they weren't elicit.

43:48>> So, it could be leveraged again within

43:51small areas, but we would probably be

43:52doing it more focused on the sewer

43:55system because it's smaller diameter

43:57pipe that's younger

43:58>> and if it shows where we expect it to,

44:00where do we we were looking for evidence

44:03of properties that should be smoking out

44:04there, Venack, and it's not,

44:06>> right? And that wasn't it wasn't um

44:09helpful in our case, but it did re it

44:11did lead to the CCTV and the die testing

44:14programs, but it's not off the table.

44:16It's just we're finding getting into the

44:18homes and actually verifying is going to

44:20be like we're

44:23the data is telling us to be on a

44:24certain block within certain structures.

44:27And now the new next step is a lot of

44:29these are two three unit properties and

44:31we have had instances where the one you

44:33can get into on that day tests fine.

44:36Mhm.

44:36>> But we've also then had other properties

44:38where a different unit in the same

44:40building is somehow tied into the drain

44:43when the other one's tied to sewer. So

44:45>> So we are we're focusing [snorts] now on

44:47some of those multi-units to make sure

44:49we clear every unit as opposed to just

44:52what we assume is the primary, you know,

44:54everybody's in the same pipe. That's not

44:56always the case. So I now I I think I

45:00understand a little bit better about why

45:01you can't do it so you know easily

45:04compared to swamps because it sounds

45:05like the infrastructure that's

45:07underground is the sizes are you know

45:11just

45:12>> and so then it kind of going back to the

45:15question of like if we know that getting

45:18into the property has proven to be

45:19difficult right I mean we've been trying

45:21to get into 100 properties for 5 years

45:24could you if you are getting consistent

45:26nos or or nobody's home or absentee

45:28landlord or whatever have you. Could you

45:30then employ a smoke test at that

45:32property like individually to try to

45:35just check a box like, hey, we're

45:37getting smoke where we need it to. We're

45:39going to assume we're okay, so we can

45:41kind of make a note and move on to

45:42something different.

45:44>> You could you have to work to try and

45:46control the smoke between structures so

45:48that you're trying to isolate it. It's

45:50not something you can't do. I will say

45:52we're only down to of the properties

45:53we're trying to get in, we only have

45:55eight that have been nonresponsive or

45:57refused. So we're not at like a hundred.

45:59Um the canvasing has been able to get

46:02into properties. Now it's going to be

46:03more of a targeted like

46:05>> we've even spoken at the subcommittee

46:07level of potentially there having to be

46:09some way to property transaction.

46:11There's a die test performed whether

46:13it's by unit or the total number of

46:14units in a property. Now, that would be

46:16citywide as opposed to in Kings Beach

46:18alone

46:18>> as some way to also kind of work through

46:21the system because there's always going

46:23to be the potential that um as

46:26Commissioner Grace said like we're

46:27catching a grab sample and on one

46:29certain day everything's fine and you

46:31come back and there's like what the t

46:34the cameraing found a handful of direct

46:37connections because there was visual

46:39evidence, but if you're out there at the

46:41wrong time of day, you're not going to

46:42see it. And a lot of the system we were

46:44using um a small benefit to the drought

46:48conditions was we were out doing recon

46:50in the system to try and find presence

46:52of water in places you wouldn't expect

46:54it when we've been so dry. Um so it's

46:57it's not for a lack of looking but I do

47:00think smoke or actual physical

47:02inspection from the property to the

47:04street or vice versa would be where some

47:06of those inconclusives might have to

47:08get. We have found that the

47:11some of the system

47:14methods of construction don't allow for

47:16video inspection from the commission

47:18side. Um we have a lot of old systems

47:20where the pipes enter at like basically

47:23the crown of the pipe at like 12:00. So

47:25the camera can't get up and navigate and

47:27go. Um so you would have to try and do

47:29it from the property and then you run

47:31into an issue of

47:32>> you're on private property. What happens

47:35if something on the plumbing side

47:37doesn't work when you're trying to gain

47:38access? Now, you might have to repair.

47:40So, it's not it's it would be property

47:43by property if you could do something

47:45from the basement and confirm where it

47:47goes. Um, we have also targeted some

47:50properties that were inconclusive die

47:52tests. So, basically, we didn't find the

47:53dye in either system.

47:56Um, so sometimes that could be an issue

47:58of just there could be sags in the pipe

48:01and you might need a considerable volume

48:02of water to get to the discharge

48:05location. So we have done retesting on

48:07some of those to try and clear those

48:09inconclusives. U which also gets to also

48:12the problem of just if there's multiple

48:14units and according to the records

48:16there's a single sewer service but one

48:19other one got tied in or was not

48:20disconnected during past sewer

48:22separation. It could be live for one of

48:24three units and the other two are going

48:25to where they're supposed to go. So,

48:28um, but it's definitely a tool in the

48:29toolbox. It's just deploying it would be

48:33trying to get into the properties and

48:35physically die testing would for us has

48:37proved more conclusive than the smoke

48:39testing we attempted earlier.

48:47[snorts]

48:48>> All right. Last under item under

48:50business is non-union non-contract

48:52letter to Jim Arsenal regarding cola. Um

48:57we need to go into executive session for

48:59this. So I'd like someone to make a

49:01motion to go into executive session to

49:03conduct strategy sessions and

49:05preparations for negotiations with

49:07non-UN personnel.

49:11>> Motion.

49:11>> You made that motion. I heard you. You

49:13second it. Okay. Um joining us. I'm

49:17gonna say who's joining us. Is that it?

49:18Sam.

49:19>> Yep. Sam's going to be with us. Uh Ryan,

49:22Andy, Bob, and the commissioners.

49:25>> And will we come back into session?

49:28>> Yes, we will return to session.

49:30>> So, we're going to come back.

49:31>> We will return to open session.

49:32>> Okay. Thank you. Okay.

49:36Me, too. Uh returning to the open

49:38meeting. Uh no votes were taken in

49:40executive session.

49:43>> All right. I would like to make a motion

49:45to grant middle management employees the

49:50same percentage increase in pay as union

49:53employees.

49:54>> Second

49:56roll call.

49:56>> Roll call, please.

49:58>> Commissioner Grace,

49:59>> yes. Commissioner, absent. Commissioner,

50:03>> yes.

50:03>> Commissioner Walsh, absent. Commissioner

50:06Salona,

50:06>> yes.

50:09>> Okay. So, make Oh, sorry. Uh do business

50:15hearing? None. Uh make a motion to

50:17adjurnn.

50:18>> Motion second.

50:20>> I All in favor?

50:21>> I

50:21>> I thank you.