Capital Efficiency Plan™ and Water System Master Plan, Attleboro, MA
Tata & Howard, Inc. was retained by the City of Attleboro to complete a Capital Efficiency Plan™ and Water System Master Plan for the Attleboro water system. The purpose of the Capital Efficiency Plan™ portion of the project was to identify areas of the water distribution system in need of rehabilitation, repair, or replacement, and to prioritize improvements to make the most efficient use of the City’s capital budget. The Water System Master Plan portion of the project created an inventory of the existing above ground water infrastructure assets including wells, pumping and treatment facilities, and water storage tanks. The inventory can be used to track maintenance, repair, and replacement work. Basin safe yields were reviewed and compared to projected demands to evaluate the adequacy of sources of supply. In addition, the project included creation of an extended period simulation (EPS) hydraulic model which can be used to analyze the system and account for changes over time.
An asset management assessment was completed for the system. Several factors are considered in the assessment including age, material, diameter, break history, soil conditions, water quality, pressure, and whether the main was installed poorly. These factors affect the decision to replace or rehabilitate a water main. Using our asset management rating approach, each water main in the system was assigned a rating based on these factors. Utilizing the Three Circles Approach, improvements were recommended and prioritized based on the aforementioned criteria. Recommended improvements include the following:
- Three phases of water main replacement projects;
- A Water Quality and System Optimization Study to evaluate ways the City can lower the water age in the storage tank;
- A study to evaluate improvements to maximize available yield;
- Collection and maintenance of data on water main failures as well as pipe crushing results from water mains that have failed;
- Testing of soil for corrosivity prior to installation of new ductile iron water mains;
- Implementation of a Unidirectional Flushing Program; and
- Minor repairs and security improvements to address deficiencies in the City’s above ground assets.
