The City of Marlborough, MA (home of T&H headquarters) contracted Tata & Howard for the design, pre-construction services, construction administration and resident observation of approximately 1,200 lead water service connections.
Until 1944, lead was widely used in service lines and is quite common in many of the older cities and towns in Massachusetts.
Lead pipes currently placed between the streets and homes of identified Marlborough residents will be replaced with copper pipes in five phases – each phase consisting of approximately 250 homes.
Tata & Howard will be involved in each phase, reviewing tie cards, attending field surveys to determine what each service placement will entail, and advising contractors on the quantity of pipes to be installed in each location.
Although lead is known to be a major health risk to children and pregnant women, the supplier of Marlborough’s water, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), treats all water to reduce lead from getting into drinking water.
Tata & Howard was contracted to provide design, construction administration and resident observation for the installation of 18,000 linear feet (approximately 3.5 miles) of 16-inch ductile iron water main in Falmouth, MA. Water main replacement will be in Main Street and Route 28. That is, from the intersection of West Main Street and Locust Street, to the intersection of Teaticket Highway and Oxbow Road
New water main will be replacing the town’s 10-inch cast iron water pipes that were originally installed in 1898. Falmouth’s 121-year-old water infrastructure has stood strong for more than a century; however, it has become clear that it’s nearing the end of its useful life and approaching the age at which it needs to be replaced. Evidence of this can be seen in the three water main breaks that have occurred since August of 2018. In addition, the original water main is hydraulically deficient and needs to be up-sized to meet the increasing demands in the system.
Construction began at the beginning of April and continued up until Memorial Day of this year. Construction was limited to off season times due to the heavy tourist months in Cape Cod. Project completion was in the spring of 2021.
Tata & Howard provided engineering services for final design and construction documents associated with the design of a wastewater treatment facility utilizing membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology for the 50-acre Meadow Walk development at 526-528 Boston Post Road in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The site is a former Raytheon engineering and R&D facility.
National Development / Avalon Bay mixed-use residential and retail development, Boston Post Road, Sudbury, MA.
Believing the site was well-suited for mixed-use residential and retail development, Sudbury selectmen and residents voted to approve zoning and development plans proposed by National Development and Avalon Bay. The site was in development for two years and is nearing completion. The project consists of several independent components, which collectively comprise a mixed-use development with new open space, retail, and restaurants as well as walkable access to adjacent retail, office, and other services along Boston Post Road. The project also included local roadway improvements, major upgrades to the streetscape and landscaping, wastewater treatment improvements, and improved water quality.
Tata & Howard was contacted initially to prepare studies of existing conditions and proposed modifications to enhance and then upgrade the wastewater facility and disposal area on the site. Additional out-of-scope changes included value engineered alternatives and additional design services. The existing wastewater treatment facility was over 25 years old and required increased discharge limits; conversion to an MBR system to achieve higher removal of BOD, TSS, TN, turbidity, and other wastewater constituents; additional treatment redundancy; upgrades to meet current Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) guidelines; increased groundwater recharge; odor control; replacement of old infrastructure with a new pump station, gravity lines, and force main; a change to mixed land/water use to result in wastewater generation that could be more efficiently treated at the new wastewater treatment facility; and a new leaching field.
Upgrades included infrastructure and a new leaching field.
Tata & Howard provided engineering services for design, bidding, construction administration, and resident observation to Aquarion Water Company for improvements to their existing Hemlocks Raw Water Pumping Station in Fairfield, CT. The project included refurbishing five 300 hp centrifugal pumps and motors, replacing the existing variable frequency drives (VFDs), installing new piping, check valves, and strainers for each pump.
BEFORE improvements to the Hemlocks Pumping Station.
As this facility is a source of supply for Aquarion’s Main System, it needed to be kept operational throughout the construction. The sequence of work required a single pump to be taken off line; refurbished; reinstalled with new piping, VFD, and appurtenances; tested and placed back into service prior to the next pump being taken off line.
AFTER improvements to the Hemlocks Pumping Station.
Another important aspect of the project was to replace the existing strainers so that they were easier for the plant operators to clean as they get clogged with eels. To simplify maintenance, new stainless steel wye strainers with bottom access to the screens were installed on the suction side of each pump.
The Chamberlain Highway in Meridan, Connecticut has 536 linear feet of new 16-inch ductile iron main and two new fire hydrants. After Tata & Howard completed several test pits to verify connection locations at each end of the new main, construction work started on May 3, 2018 with the installation of a 16” x 16” tapping sleeve and valve at the north end of the project. This existing water main at the north end connection was originally installed in 1894.
Work progressed south until the new main was approximately 50 feet away from the other connection point in West Main Street. Connections to the existing main in West Main Street was performed over a 36-hour period due to the complexity and amount of utilities around the service connection, including a live 24-inch water main five feet away and multiple telephone conduits located 6 inches above the replaced main. Tata & Howard personnel on site at all times to observe that work was in performed in accordance to the plans and specifications.
Following the completion of the Chamberlain Highway water infrastructure improvement project, work to replace two water mains on the state-owned bridge crossing Sodom Brook in Meridan will begin.
The Wiscasset Water District (WWD) completed its final phase of water main replacements for the Town of Wiscasset, ME. In 2007, Wiscasset, a rural coastal town in Maine, embarked on a long-awaited infrastructure improvement program to replace the Town’s century-old waterlines. The Wiscasset Water District, engaged Tata & Howard’s services in 2010, to prepare a Capital Efficiency Plan™ (CEP), to identify areas to the Town’s water distribution system needing rehabilitation, repair, and/or replacement.
The Capital Efficiency Plan™ report which included hydraulic modeling, system criticality, and an asset management plan, provided the Utility with a database and Geographic Information System (GIS) representation for each pipe segment within their underground piping system. The CEP report also prioritized the water distribution system piping improvements and provided estimated costs to replace or rehabilitate the water mains.
In response to the CEP™ findings, the Wiscasset Water District retained the services of Tata & Howard, to perform design, bidding, construction administration, and resident project representation services for a series of water main projects.
Phased over 10 years, the plan included replacing 33,150 feet of 12-inch and 8-inch piping, installation of a water storage tank mixer, SCADA upgrades, and office landscaping improvements.
The final phase of water main replacements is scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2018 and will fulfill all the Priority I water main improvements identified in the 2010 CEP™ report. The projects were funded in part by a combination of USDA Rural Development grants (6 total) and loans (7 total), as well as coordination with the Maine Department of Transportation and Rural Development.
The final phase of water main replacements that was completed during the summer of 2018 fulfilled all the Priority I water main improvements identified in the 2010 CEP™ report. The projects were funded in part by a combination of USDA Rural Development grants (6 total) and loans (7 total), as well as coordination with the Maine Department of Transportation and Rural Development.
Tata & Howard provided professional engineering design services to the City of Flagstaff, AZ for the replacement of three aeration units, as well as interior air piping improvements for the Rio De Flag Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WWRF). In addition, approximately 400 linear feet of existing air piping were replaced at the Rio De Flag WWRF. The exterior pipe was visibly leaking air. For technical and operational reasons, screw compressors were chosen over turbo blowers. Tata & Howard provided design services including preparation of plans, specifications, and bid documents for the installation of the new screw compressors.
The existing air flow exterior pipe gaskets had deteriorated with the heat of the existing compressed air to where the piping was a safety problem and was also wasting energy. Tata & Howard worked with the City to provide shop approvals and assisted the City’s inspector to ensure the project met the plans and specifications.
The existing blowers at the plant were 25 years old, had reached the end of their useful life, and did not ramp up and down with the wastewater flow. The new aeration units will flow pace with the changing incoming flow and saved the City enough electrical energy that it is projected to pay for the upgrade in eight years. The electrical power company (APS) offered a large rebate to reward Flagstaff for taking this energy and money saving opportunity.
Tata & Howard is providing engineering services to the Grafton Water District for the Trinity Avenue Pump Station at the Trinity Avenue Wellfield. The project included permitting, design, and bidding of the pump station as well as providing assistance with permitting, design, and reporting to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) for the proposed Trinity Avenue Well site. The property was owned by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW).
The Grafton Water District swapped land with the DFW to obtain ownership and control of the Trinity Avenue site. Test wells were installed and short term pump tests were completed on each of the wells. Based on the results of the tests, it was recommended to install a three well configuration of 18 inch x 12 inch gravel packed wells resulting in approximately 800 gallons per minute (gpm).
The project included an evaluation of alternatives for the access road including installation of a bridge or an open bottomed culvert, and T&H assisted with the preparation of permanent easements for the installation of utilities and roadway to the well site. In addition, T&H prepared and submitted an NOI to the Grafton Conservation Commission. Design included double wythe block and interior concrete painted block with wood truss roof and asphaltic shingles; and security included chain link fence, gates, locks, intrusion alarms, and lighting. T&H also assisted with the coordination of the installation of three phase power to site. Chemical feed at the station includes KOH for pH adjustment and chlorine gas for disinfection. Standby power was included in an outdoor enclosure. The design also included a 24-inch transmission main for 4-log removal.
The Towns of Canaan, Vermont and Stewartstown, New Hampshire operate a shared wastewater treatment facility, which required significant upgrades. The existing facilities were 40 years old and although a few upgrades were performed in the 90s, the facilities were not performing well, did not meet Life Safety codes, and required significant maintenance. The upgrade met all of the goals of the Client by providing for simple operation and maintenance requirements, meeting the Life Safety codes, eliminating confined spaces, lowering of electrical power costs, and meeting discharge parameters through production of high quality effluent. The solutions developed for the upgrade to this facility were also economical.
Control building insulated concrete forms
One of the primary elements of the design was the consideration of the economics of energy reduction. The design incorporated insulated concrete form construction for the building walls with R-49 insulation rating in the ceilings. The design also included a wood pellet boiler with a pellet silo and hot water heating system, which allowed for reduction of explosion proof heaters in the headworks building. All of the windows were low-E and highly insulated, and an outer glassed-in entry way increased the solar gain retention of the building and reduced heat loss. he process headworks and operations buildings were constructed as single story structures, increasing operator safety.
The lagoon aeration system is now a fine bubble, highly efficient process with additional mixing provided by solar powered mixers that help reduce aeration requirements, improve treatment, and allows for the addition of septage, all at no cost due to solar power. The pump station upgrades were designed to eliminate daily confined space entry by the operator by the conversion to submersible pumps. For sludge removal, a unique and simple “Sludge Sled” system was incorporated, which allows the operators to easily remove the sludge at their convenience. Sludge treatment is accomplished with a geo-bag system that allows the sludge to be freeze dried, reducing the volume by almost 50% with no energy consumption.
The influent pump station was designed with three pumps instead of the normal two-pump system in order to meet both present and future design flows, allow for lower horsepower pumps, improve flexibility, reduce replacement costs, and reduce energy costs. The other four deep dry pit pump stations were converted to wet wells and submersible pumps, eliminating confined spaces, and are equipped with emergency generators, eliminating the need for operator attention when power is lost.
Solar mixers for lagoons
The incorporation of highly energy efficient building components resulted in reducing annual operation and maintenance costs, which resulted in lower user rates and a more sustainable facility. All building components are virtually maintenance free. All of the equipment and processes were selected to reduce both annual and future replacement costs.
The treatment system is a 3-cell aerated lagoon system, and the solar powered mixers were installed to enable reduction of the aeration needs and horsepower during the summer months when septage is added. The aeration blowers, which are housed in insulated enclosures, reduce noise and were sized to allow for the addition of septage to the lagoons, which is not common in Vermont. The aeration blowers are controlled with Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), which allow for greater operator control of aeration and provide energy cost savings. The operation is simple and safe for operators and others who need to maintain the facility and equipment. The design has provided flexibility to the operators and has resulted in an energy efficient, sustainable solution for this community.
Tata & Howard provided design and construction services for a new water treatment facility that houses a 1.2 mgd ultrafiltration system and completed a pilot test that consisted of an evaluation of two separate ultrafiltration technologies. Franklin Wells No. 1 and 2, located off Hayward Street in Franklin, Massachusetts were installed in the 1940’s with a combined safe yield of 1.2 million gallons per day. Due to high concentrations of iron and manganese in the groundwater, the wells were only used to meet peak water demands during the summer months. The construction of the water treatment facility recaptures the yield from these two sources.
The water treatment facility consists of a main building which houses static mixers, ozone feed equipment, chemical feed equipment, prefilters, membrane filtration equipment, instrumentation and controls. Treatment consists of ozone oxidation followed by membrane ultrafiltration. The project was funded in part by the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust through a low interest state revolving fund loan.
The overall treatment scheme is as follows: ozone injection, oxidation of iron and manganese in an ozone contact tank, prefiltration, treatment through two ultrafiltration membrane skids, chlorination prior to a clearwell, and fluoride addition prior to discharge into the distribution system. The plant is designed to recycle backwash water and membrane recirculation water to the head of the plant utilizing two decant tanks. Ozone is produced on site utilizing compressed air, while a LOX tank is available to allow for the production of additional ozone if required in the future.
Let's stay in touch.
Get the latest news, blogs, and insights conveniently in your inbox.
