Acton Massachusetts: Innovative Water Resources Management Now and in the Future

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1 Acton Massachusetts: Innovative Water Resources Management Now and in the Future Brent L. Reagor, RS Environmental Health Specialist Acton Health Department

2 Background on Acton Wastewater Management Watershed Management Stormwater Management Future Work Thoughts and Observations

3 Acton 25 miles NW of Boston 20K people over 20 mi 2 Phase II Community 80% Onsite Systems 10% Private Sewers 10% Public Sewers 32+ miles of Class B Streams

4 Wastewater Management Health Department responsible for: Onsite wastewater systems Private Sewer oversight Public sewer system management Comprehensive Water Resources Management Planning

5 Onsite System Management Local regulation requires septic tank pumping at least once every 2 years All pumpings reported to Health Department Fee from reporting slips funds part-time time employee for recordkeeping purposes System data is tracked and analyzed in GIS Includes permitting, servicing, inspections, etc

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7 I/A Technology Over 60 systems installed since 1996 have utilized I/A technology Advanced treatment of the wastewater prior to the subsurface disposal system Require annual O&M contracts with the homeowner All systems currently serviced by private contractors Some installations require effluent sampling on a varying basis dependent on design flow Contract data and system performance tracked in Health Department These systems are unique because they require: Greater oversight by Health Department More focused system user education Greater technical knowledge base to understand processes

8 Private Sewers 10 package WWTFs in Acton Serve 10% of the community Design flows from 4000 gpd 250,000 gpd 9 groundwater discharges, 1 surface water discharge Each receives yearly operations permit from the Health Department Inspected on an annual basis, in conjunction with MADEP Health Department receives and reviews DMRs/MORs HD acts as an additional layer of oversight to short-staffed staffed MADEP programs

9 Acton Sewers Constructed in 00-01, 01, Online 2/ miles of gravity main 3 miles of force main 10 pumping stations 0.25 MGD WWTF Dual SBR system Tertiary BNR facility Permit limits: 0.2 mg/l P, 5 mg/l TN, <200 FC MADEP Groundwater Discharge Permit Awaiting public comment on increase to MGD

10 Sewered Population Approximately 2500 residents served Majority of system serves SFR dwellings Commercial/Institutional users account for 19% of district (by parcel count) Currently, 48.2% of possible users are connected 99% of users on Public Water Supply from Acton Water District

11 Health Department Role Serve as primary regulatory authority in Sewer District Review all connection plans and issue permits Manage day-to to-day contract operations of the WWTF Recently negotiated changes in GWD permit with MADEP DPW has an ancillary role

12 CWRMP Health Department again in the lead Needs analysis based on factors ranging from environmental to political Solution matrix fully embraces the concepts of Decentralized Wastewater Management Solutions: Additional sewer construction New satellite WWTFs Small cluster systems Wastewater Management Districts Default Solution

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14 Watershed Management Health Department has a active water quality surveillance program with 47 sites across Acton Recently developed the Small-Scale Scale Microwatershed Method to facilitate better management

15 Acton Water Sampling Program Began in the 70 s 47 current sites with 10+ years of solid quarterly fecal coliform sampling data Results show: Nashoba Brook Average Fecal Coliform = 141 CFU/100ml Fort Pond Brook Average Fecal Coliform = 86 CFU/100ml Adding 3 new sites Beginning surveillance for TDS, EC, and e. coli All lab work is performed in house

16 What is an SSMW? The drainage area impacting a particular sampling point

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18 Divide and Conquer The SSMW Method Upstream Analysis Easy to implement Simple to understand

19 Delineation of the SSMWs

20 Hot Spots in Acton

21 Stormwater Management Health Department is primary coordinator of all Phase II compliance activities Using the SSMW method as a basis for most MCM organization Using task function in MS Outlook to for assignment and reporting of stormwater management responsibilities across all Departments

22 Results Implementation of the SSMW method as a foundation for IDDE has resulted in: Detection and elimination of multiple sanitary wastewater connections to the MS4 Detection and elimination of indirect illicit discharges from malfunctioning onsite systems Increase in overall water quality when measured by FC bacteria Specifically in those SSMWs now served by Town Sewer

23 Benefits of the SSMW/IDDE Method Ease of Stakeholder Buy-In Allows the De-bugging of the surface water network Iterative process User-defined level of complexity Upstream view BMPs can be implemented more rapidly and their impact can be greater

24 Applications in other Phase II MCMs Public Education and Outreach Allows for more targeted approach in hot spots Public Involvement and Participation Smaller focus areas mean greater stakeholder buy-in and recognition of their impact Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control Sites can be managed on a more focused basis, specifically tailored to the water quality impairments within the SSMW Post-Construction Stormwater Management in new Development and Re- development Allows regulations to be customized to have the greatest impact on water quality improvement Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations Localized monitoring allows for BMPs to be structured more easily

25 What s Coming in the Future? Expansion of the SSMW method to another watershed Using the SSMW method as a basis for an Environmental Management System for the community Combination of local regulations for water resource protection, onsite wastewater disposal, and advanced wastewater treatment into one integrated code Expansion of the Wastewater Management Districts into Integrated Water Resources Management Districts where inputs and outputs can be hydrologically balanced Districts can be regulated in such a way to encourage upstream/downstream interdistrict trading

26 Indirect Potable Reuse The only viable surface water discharge location in Acton is the Assabet River Phosphorus TMDL and politics makes a discharge of significant flow unlikely Current WWTF is discharging potable water Most transmissive wellfield located less than ¼ mile from WWTF Major expansion of sewers in Acton (up to 1 MGD) requires large groundwater discharge site Town has enrolled in John Hopkins study on EDC/PCPP in WWTF effluent and process streams Positioning ourselves to be the first purposeful IPR project in New England

27 General Thoughts Having one Department responsible for all water resource management allows the staff to have a holistic view With the reduced staffing and disinvestment at MADEP, the time is right for two concepts: Risk-based permitting for Groundwater and Surface Discharges Watershed Based Trading built on a foundation of solid TMDLs

28 QUESTIONS?