Friends, family, and colleagues came together to celebrate Paul Howard’s retirement at the Eastern Shores Club in Shrewsbury, MA on the evening of January 4, 2023. Co-Presidents Karen Gracey and Jenna Rzasa gave a fond farewell speech to Paul while recognizing his myriad accomplishments. After presenting him with some very special gifts, Paul took to the podium to say a few words. There were many tears along with the laughter, and everyone agreed that it was a night to remember.
In layman’s terms, unidirectional flushing is water flowing in one direction: a one way traffic lane for your local water distribution system. And the process is, for the most part, as simple as that.
To elaborate a bit more, unidirectional flushing, otherwise known as UDF, is an annual process used to aid and maintain water distribution systems like the one in your local area that provides your drinking water. We at Tata & Howard designed UDF programs specifically to remove unwanted tastes, odors, and discoloration in a water supply, to flush out bacteria and tuberculation that has built up, prolong the life of pipes and hydrants, allow for technicians to locate broken valves and hydrants, and to further pinpoint other water quality and supply issues.
Bye, Bye, Bacteria
What does flushing water in one direction have anything to do with preventing water-borne disease? For starters, let’s examine the diagram below of a water distribution system that utilizes conventional flushing.
As shown in the diagram, clean water is flowing from the tank into the water distribution system but is met with the free-flowing sediment and rust-mixed water from every direction. The direction in which the water flushes is crucial because the one-way water flow keeps the tainted water separate from the clean water, unlike the conventional flushing pictured above. With this method, sediment, microbial bacteria, corrosion, etc. are not circulated in the clean water, therefore preventing it from making into your next glass of water.
Since tainted water isn’t being fully flushed out in conventional flushing, sediment, rust, and microbial bacteria are building up within some of the pipe’s walls. This build up, or tuberculation, can negatively affect how much water can be distributed.
Under Pressure (Washing)
A great component of UDF is that the water is flushed throughout the distribution system at a higher velocity. If the water rushing down these pipes is at a higher velocity, that means tuberculation that has built up in the pipe’s walls will wash away, too. Picture it like your water distribution system’s very own water pressure system, blasting away microbial and rust buildup, and tossing it out with the rest of the bath water.
In Municipal and Sewer and Water Magazine, Shrewsbury, MA water and sewer superintendent — and Tata & Howard client — Dan Rowley states that when fire hydrants are opened to increase the water velocity, it “increases to 5 to 10 feet per second, compared to 1 to 3 feet per second in conventional flushing.” With that kind of power, tuberculation doesn’t stand a chance.
Now, when some people think of ramping up the speed dial on something, they think more power equals more resources, but that’s not the case here. UDF uses upwards of 40% less water than conventional flushing. A higher population to serve brings a higher water demand, which leads to a lower supply due to demand and climate change. All of this then results in a crucial need to seek out the most cost-effective and sustainable methods in order to maintain, improve, and prolong our planet’s natural resources. And UDF does just that.
Improve System Performance
During the unidirectional flushing process, valves are opened and closed to maintain a unidirectional flow. In the process, broken and closed valves as well as nonfunctioning hydrants are identified. Not only are you cleaning the water pipes during the UDF process, you are also identifying critical system components such as valves and hydrants that need replacement or maintainance.
Regardless, any water distribution system needs flushing. So why not perform it in such a way that you can simultaneously flush our tuberculation and bacteria from your pipes’ walls, prolong the quality of your valves, hydrants and pipes, use less water, and also improve overall water quality and quantity issues? This is one of those win-win situations!
At Tata & Howard, our UDF programs are implemented all over Massachusetts, ranging from Shrewsbury to Wayland, and Melrose to Haverhill, and down to parts of Connecticut. By adopting one of our UDF programs, a water distribution system can maintain efficiency and cleanliness longer between flushes, save money, and ultimately use less of our earth’s natural resources.
HOLLISTON, Mass. – Tata & Howard recently received the 2022 Sponsor of the Year Award from the New England Water Works Association (NEWWA), the region’s largest and oldest not-for-profit organization of water works professionals.
The Sponsor of the Year Award was established in 1995 to recognize the outstanding efforts of service provider members who support NEWWA through financial contributions, in-kind materials, and volunteer resources.
Tata & Howard has been a NEWWA member since 2004 and is a NEWWA Gold Sponsor. They are Recycle Sponsors at the Spring Conference, consistently sponsor the Annual Golf Tournament, supported the 2021 Virtual Technology Campaign, and have participated as an advertiser in the Source newsletter.
Tata & Howard supports the involvement of their staff in NEWWA as volunteers, including Co-President Karen Gracey, who has been involved with the Program Committee as a campaign manager and moderator for the Spring and Annual Conferences for the last six years.
Tata & Howard was recognized with this award on September 18, 2022, during NEWWA’s 141st Annual Conference in Newport, RI.
An EPA mandate under section §141.84 of the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR) requires all municipalities to develop and submit for review a lead service line (LSL) inventory plan, including public and private side, by October 16, 2024.
Over time, lead in drinking water builds up in the body, causing damage to the brain, red blood cells, and kidneys. The most significant risk is to young children and pregnant women, as lead in the body can slow the normal mental and physical development of growing bodies.
With the EPA’s October mandate rolling out in 2024, municipalities across America are working on developing or refining an LSL inventory tracking system to quickly identify and replace lead service lines for public and private water connections.
T&H’s Justine Carroll, Vice President, published an article titled “How to Start an LSL Inventory Tracking System,” which provides guidance on the necessary information that should be collected for a complete database. You may review the full article here.
We wanted to extend a heartfelt thank you to Sal Longo for his many years of service. Sal has been with Tata & Howard since 2014 when Haestad Engineering was acquired. Prior to 2014, he spent the entirety of his career at Haestad. With his easy-going demeanor and superior engineering skills, Sal has been the go to person for many clients in Connecticut because of his expertise in everything water, specifically safe yield analyses and pump station designs. Not only is he retiring but he is also leaving Connecticut and heading to Maine. We wish Sal the best of luck in this next chapter and hope that he can relax and enjoy some needed time off. The entire Tata & Howard team wishes Sal the very best in his retirement! Wishing you many fun adventures!
Tata & Howard is pleased to announce the Donald J. Tata Engineering Scholarship Award to two deserving high school seniors: Cheryl Seiger from Natick High School and Christopher King Jr. (pictured) from Marlborough High School.
Cheryl is pursuing an Engineering Management degree from Arizona State University, while Christopher is pursuing a Computer Science Engineering degree at St. Anselm’s. We wish both of these very deserving students continued success on their educational journey!
The Donald J. Tata Engineering Scholarship Awards are annual scholarships given in honor of Tata & Howard co-founder Don Tata to deserving seniors from Natick and Marlborough High Schools who will be pursuing engineering degrees in college.
New T&H Team Members visited the water main construction project for the Town of Shrewsbury, MA. Shrewsbury’s Water & Sewer Division, DPW, Superintendent Dan Rowley, and resident Wade joined the new T&H Engineers Matthew Carter, Jeffrey Barnas, Kimberly Frary, Kai Kapossy, and Intern Alexandra Russo, observing the construction for hands-on training.
Project Engineer Molly Caruso, P.E. and Project Manager James Hoyt, P.E. presented to 3rd graders at the Stanley Elementary School in Waltham, MA. The students are learning about the water cycle and the importance of conserving water and protecting our water resources. Molly and James spoke about how our behaviors impact the water cycle. They also discussed what environmental engineers do and how their work solves problems and helps provide access to safe drinking water. Molly and James loved hearing the thoughtful ideas and questions from some of our future engineers!
Kirsten Hummel, E.I.T., is performing Resident Project Representative (RPR) responsibilities at the Combined Pump Station Chemical Feed Building for the Town of Marion, MA. The contractor, Barbato Construction Co., is exposing an intersection to tie in the raw and finished water mains.
Anticipated Project Completion Date: September 2022.
Matthew V. Morganelli, P.E., Project Mgr.
mmorganelli@tataandhoward.com | Phone: (508) 232-6238
Kirsten M. Hummel, E.I.T.
khummel@tataandhoward.com | Phone:(508) 232-6252
Our Cornhole Tournament was a Hole-In-Many! It was a great afternoon filled with friendly competition, food, laughs, and camaraderie! The sky was blue, and the warmth of the afternoon sun was perfect for the tossing arm. Next step: cornhole league!
