Tata & Howard was retained by the Town of Falmouth to develop a comprehensive Capital Efficiency Plan™ (CEP) for its water system. The goal of the project was to identify infrastructure in need of rehabilitation, repair, or replacement and to prioritize improvements to ensure the most effective use of the Town’s capital budget.
The evaluation included not only the water distribution system, but also water supply and storage needs, providing a holistic view of system performance and future investment priorities.
Approach
Tata & Howard applied its proven Three Circle Approach to evaluate the Town’s water distribution system. This methodology integrates three key areas of analysis:
- Hydraulic Evaluation – Identifying capacity constraints, flow limitations, and pressure deficiencies
- Critical Component Assessment – Evaluating system reliability and the importance of individual assets
- Asset Management Considerations – Reviewing age, condition, maintenance history, and replacement needs
Each water main segment was evaluated against these criteria to identify system deficiencies and determine priority levels.
Prioritization Strategy
By combining the results of all three evaluation areas, Tata & Howard developed a data-driven prioritization framework:
- Deficiencies identified across multiple evaluation categories were assigned higher priority
- Interactions between system components were analyzed to identify compounding risks
- Opportunities to address multiple issues with a single improvement were highlighted to maximize efficiency
This integrated approach ensured that recommended improvements would deliver the greatest overall benefit to the system while optimizing capital investment decisions.
Results
The Capital Efficiency Plan provided the Town of Falmouth with a clear, actionable roadmap to:
- Prioritize infrastructure improvements based on system-wide impact
- Improve reliability and performance of the water distribution system
- Plan for future water supply and storage needs
- Maximize the effectiveness of limited capital funding
By leveraging a comprehensive and strategic approach, the Town is better positioned to make informed, cost-effective decisions that support long-term system sustainability.
During the course of the design, it was determined that the backwash water would not be permitted by the MWRA to be discharged into the sewer system. Therefore, alternatives needed to be evaluated. One option was to provide holding tanks for the backwash water. This would enable the Town to recycle the supernatant to the head of the facility and therefore, minimize waste of the supply water. Since the area was not conducive for the installation of drying beds, the sludge collected at the bottom of the holding tank was removed by means of a septage hauler.
