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Status
Key efforts since the Town vote in November 2008 have
been directed at funding, permitting, and planning. Highlights
include:
- Funding. Since the November 2008 bond vote and
initial outreach to potential customers, the Town secured
an additional $800,000 in grant funding from USDA Rural
Development (RD) that reduces the projected customer costs.
The $7.6 million project will be paid for by $4.5 million
in federal grants, connection fees, and a $3.014 million
loan. Customers
who commit to connecting prior to December 31, 2009 will
save significantly on their connection costs.
- Planning. The design plans are 90% complete,
the water source permit has been received and the project
is currently in the Act 250 permitting process. Before
the plans can be finalized so the project can go out to
bid for construction, all permits and easements must be
secured. Members of the WITF are contacting property owners
from whom permanent or temporary easements may be needed.
- Task Force. The Select Board established a Water
Implementation Task Force (WITF) to assist the Town and
project engineer with the planning, oversight, and outreach
to the connected customers. The task force is made up
of Waitsfield residents who represent business and residential
customers in the service area and residents outside the
service area. The WITF has examined the project cost numbers,
is working to secure temporary and permanent easements
for the water line, and is reaching out to potential customers.
- Schedule. If all permits and easements
are obtained and at least 220 ERUs are signed on by December
31, 2009, it may be possible to put the project out to
bid this winter and see the start of construction in the
spring. A number of factors could alter that schedule.
The project has received the water source permit and is
currently in the Act 250 permit review process. Construction
is estimated to take about 18 months from start to finish.
The earliest we expect water could be available is July
2011.
Background
Development
of a municipal water system to serve Irasville and Waitsfield
Village has been identified as a priority in the Waitsfield
Town Plan for many years, not only to address public health
concerns, but also to protect water quality of the Mad River,
to provide for economic development, and to reduce the potential
for sprawl outside these areas.
Several sites in town were studied as a potential municipal
water supply. Test wells drilled on sites near the Village
did not yield adequate results. A water source in the
southeast quadrant of town was ultimately found for a municipal
water system was identified and, after further study, a well
was drilled at the end of the Class 4 Reed Road in 2006. Final
engineering and permitting are underway for a municipal water
system that would begin at the Reed Road wellhead and follow
the Town's rights-of-way along Long Road, down Bushnell Road,
and to a new storage tank to be constructed on the Town-owned
former LeClair gravel pit site. From the tank, the transmission
mains would follow a right-of-way to Tremblay Road, where
it would meet Route 100 and continue on to the Village and
Irasville. Hydrants will provide fire protection along the
route. Although not part of the original alignment,
an alternative route following Old County Road is currently
being explored, which will provide fire protection for the
residential neighborhood.
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Proposed
Service Area
Although
Waitsfield Village and Irasville are the
primary areas to be served
by the municipal water, hookups will be possible all
along the transmission line, from Tremblay Road and
along Route 100.
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Benefits
Safe, proven, and reliable drinking water supply to
all connected users.
Firefighting capacity from new hydrant system.
School and other public buildings will comply with State
and Federal rules.
Capacity for building owners to install sprinkler systems.
Reduction in fire insurance premiums.
Potential to expand on-site wastewater capacity on properties
that currently use on-site water supply wells or springs.
Infrastructure needed to support Village
Growth Center; reduces pressure to grow in a "sprawl"
fashion.
Expansion of tax base, business retention, and potential
for modest growth in Waitsfield Village and Irasville.
Costs for construction and maintenance of the system
will be paid for only by the connected customers. The
more connections, the lower the cost per customer. |
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Why
Is It Needed?
Both quantity and quality of drinking water are currently
inadequate for some property owners in Waitsfield Village
and Irasville. For others, there is near term potential
for either insufficient quantity or for contamination, with
little recourse due to overlapping wastewater fields and well
protection areas.
At Waitsfield Elementary School, for example, an investment
in the range of $25,000 is needed to upgrade the school's
water system; instead, the school would be able to connect
to a municipal system if available. Other property owners
currently rely on bottled water because of contamination from
underground storage tanks or current water quality issues.
Opportunities for some businesses to expand are limited by
water supply systems that overlap with wastewater systems.
In Waitsfield Village and Irasville, and throughout Waitsfield,
property owners need to provide for both water supply and
septic disposal on an individual basis. Many establishments
share a single well.
Several decades ago, most of the buildings were fed
with water from springs on the hillside to the west. As
these were found unsafe or undependable, many people drilled
wells. The drilled wells, although more reliable than
springs, resulted in new issues, such as proximity to nearby
septic systems, underground fuel storage tanks, roads and
highways, and stormwater runoff.
Stringent state
rules have made the permitting of new well and septic
sites, as well as replacement of systems, very difficult for
most the Waitsfield Village and Irasville areas. A
vast majority of the more than 150 properties within the proposed
service area are currently served by a well that is not
in compliance with the required isolation distances from their
own or neighboring on-site water or wastewater systems.
The Selectboard has identified this public health concern
as an "emergent
condition" that needs to be addressed.
A large number of rural Vermont communities have developed
community water systems for their village centers, including
Rochester, Bristol,
Bethel, and Cabot.
As a commercial center for the Mad River Valley, Irasville
and Waitsfield Village need a safe, reliable water supply
for residents, business owners, employees, students, and visitors
to the stores, library, school, and restaurants.
Proposed
Improvements
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project is currently planned to include these major
components: |
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Water supply will come from a well that has been drilled
at Reed Road (off of Long Road), with an approximate
yield of 200 gallons per minute. This well is
sufficient to provide the present and projected future
demands of the proposed service area. |
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Approximately
7,000 linear feet of new 4-inch water transmission main
from the well to the proposed storage tank site (up
Reed Road, along Long Road, East Road, and Bushnell
Road to the Town-owned LeClair site, which is a former
gravel pit). |
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A
500,000 gallon covered storage tank and treatment control
building at the LeClair site. |
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Approximately
11,000 linear feet of new 12-inch transmission main
from the storage tank to North Road, along Tremblay
Road, and Route 100 to the Village service area; and
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Approximately
8,000 linear feet of water distribution mains (mostly
12-inch), fire hydrants, and service connections for
most properties in the Waitsfield and Irasville Villages. |
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Contacts
Valerie J. Capels, Town Administrator
Waitsfield Town Office
9 Bridge Street
Waitsfield, VT 05673
Phone: (802) 496-2218
Fax: (802) 496-9284
E-mail: 
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John Kiernan, Project Engineer
Phelps Engineering, Inc.
79 Court Street
P.O. Box 367 Middlebury, VT 05753
Phone: (802) 388-7829
Web: www.phelpseng.com |
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Updated
October 8, 2009
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Official Web Site
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