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CAPITAL EXPENDITURES COMMITTEE REPORT TO 2022 ATM& STMs 2022-1 & -2
<br /> Bedford Street at Hartwell Avenue, Lowell Street at Maple Street, Marrett Road at Spring Street,
<br /> Marrett Road at Waltham Street, and Hayden Avenue at Waltham Street.
<br /> When Town intersections are improved,new signals are installed, if appropriate,with "smart"controls, as
<br /> is the case in the current Massachusetts Avenue at Worthen Road project. These controls provide
<br /> efficiencies like preventing light changes when there are no cars approaching or waiting and watching for
<br /> pedestrians waiting to cross. With the Mass Avenue/Worthen Road project, ten of the Town's twelve
<br /> signalized intersections will have been upgraded with smart signalization. Upgrading signals is generally
<br /> done in conjunction with other intersection work. The FY2023 request for signalization funding can be
<br /> found in Article 12(1).
<br /> Water Distribution System
<br /> Many of the Town's 178 miles of water mains were installed in the early 1900s and require an ongoing
<br /> engineering program for pipe cleaning, lining, or replacement. On an annual basis, the DPW implements
<br /> work for cleaning, lining, and/or replacement of unlined, inadequate, aged, and breaking water mains to
<br /> improve water quality, pressure, and fire-protection capabilities, and to reduce frequency and severity of
<br /> water-main breaks, as well as to minimize long lengths of pipe not fed at both ends (known as "dead
<br /> ends"). This work often requires excavation prior to pipe-condition analysis. Work continues to replace
<br /> remaining unlined pipes, of which 2% (4 linear miles)presently fall into this category. Work also focuses
<br /> on replacing aging mains or those with a higher break history. The Town's annual funding requests are
<br /> now generally about$2.2 million, so that 1%of the Town's water-piping can be replaced each year.
<br /> Using funding authorized in FY2016, engineering completed an analysis of the entire distribution
<br /> network in order to prioritize work for the next phase of the improvement plan. This work has produced a
<br /> model of the network,now in use by the Engineering Division. Results of this analysis have included: the
<br /> establishment of specific level of service goals for all components of the water system; identification of
<br /> individual water mains to reline or replace; and identification of low-pressure areas in the system. This
<br /> work allows the Engineering Division to continue its best practices in the documentation of the materials,
<br /> age, and break history of the Town's water mains and to use that information with ongoing material
<br /> sampling, as appropriate,to determine its engineering replacement and rehabilitation priorities.
<br /> Plans for the next five years anticipate water main replacements on Parker Road, Vine Street, Hayden
<br /> Ave., Marshall Road, Lowell Street, and Summer Street. Some of the "out-year" funding in the Capital
<br /> Plan is still approximate due to the difficulty of actual testing in a working water system. Unlike roads
<br /> which can be analyzed visually and with easily accessible samples, water systems require more complex
<br /> exploratory testing by excavation, when and where possible. In some instances, work scope cannot be
<br /> completely developed until preliminary exploratory work on actual site conditions has been performed.
<br /> For the general Water Distribution System funding, see Article 13.
<br /> Heavy equipment and trucks used by the Water Division to maintain the system are procured with Water
<br /> Enterprise funds that are funded directly by Water-rate payers.Where equipment is shared with the Sewer
<br /> Division,the costs are split.
<br /> In FY2023, the Town will continue to research and design replacements for its two water tanks, built in
<br /> 1933 and 1950, now approaching the end of their useful lives. Analysis of both tanks done in 2018
<br /> indicated the need for significant interior and exterior repairs. Research continues on the feasibility of
<br /> further temporary repairs, and on whether, if replacement is needed, it should be one or two tanks. For
<br /> future funding requests, see the second page of the 5YCP table on Page 13 of this report.
<br /> Hydrant System
<br /> This Committee continues to encourage replacement at an accelerated rate and supports the level of
<br /> funding proposed, which remains at the FY2022 level, estimated to allow the replacement of
<br /> approximately 60 per year of the Town's 1,747 hydrants. Hydrants have an estimated life of 50 years. The
<br /> FY2023 funding for hydrant replacement continues to be evenly divided between Tax Levy funds and the
<br /> Water Enterprise Fund. For the FY2023 funding request, see Article 12(m).
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