Awash with water woes, towns seek new source for bailout

Water and sewer repair projects in Framingham and Medway deemed critically important by local officials were not funded in the final version of last month's state environmental bond bill, leaving the towns to rely on temporary strategies or find alternative sources of money for the work, officials say.

Governor Deval Patrick vetoed a total of more than $7 million in sewer and municipal-well money intended for the two communities. Framingham had been in line for $3.9 million to repair storm-water drains along Route 9, and Medway was waiting for $3.5 million to help deal with failing wells that send discolored drinking water to some homes.

The news was less disappointing for other area projects, however. Patrick ap proved $100,000 each for Hopkinton and Medway toward improvements to aging dams.

If local legislators can obtain final authorization for the projects, the money will be released to town officials.

What differentiates projects like Hopkinton and Medway's dams from the vetoed seven-figure projects, according to Patrick's deputy press secretary, Cynthia Roy, is a combination of project scope and state mission.

"In general, there are finite resources," Roy said. "Projects included this year were reflective of the administration's priorities right now. The state's infrastructure has been neglected over the last couple decades, and we're starting now to address some of that neglect and address new worthy projects."

Sarah Blodgett, spokeswoman for state Senator Karen E. Spilka, whose district includes Framingham and Medway, said Patrick's office directed officials in both towns to state revolving funds for storm- and drinking-water projects as a next step in place of using the bond money.

The Water Pollution Abatement Trust oversees low-interest loans from the revolving funds for municipal water projects.

"Principally it is more efficient because it combines state and federal funds," said Robert Keough, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. "By its combination of low-interest loans and the aggregation of state and federal funds, it's the most cost-effective way."

Temporary fixes to Framingham's problem drains were underway, according to state Executive Office of Transportation spokesman Klark Jessen.

Periodic drain and sewer clearing to relieve flood-prone stretches of Route 9 will be performed until the state moves forward on a permanent solution to the drainage problem as part of the state Highway Department's larger plan to rebuild the heavily traveled roadway, said Jessen. He said there is no timeline for rebuilding Route 9.

Jessen emphasized the underlying issue: Route 9's storm water system is strained by the density of modern development along the road, compared with its intended capacity in the mid-20th century, when the highway served a more rural region.

Peter A. Sellers, Framingham's Public Works Department director, said the bottom line is that the drains are an "absolutely visible failure. Every time we get heavy rains the road washes out."

The problem is particularly acute near the Route 126 underpass. Sellers said traffic has to be rerouted onto Route 126 and Route 30 during heavy rains.

In Medway, iron-brown water from one of the town's wells raised public concern over the past year. Mark Flaherty, the Water and Sewer Department superintendent, said the water has been clean recently because the town lines were flushed. Still, Flaherty said, Medway must move forward on a permanent fix, which involves developing a fourth well.

"The bid for a new well was awarded to Dankris Builders," Flaherty said of a $1.09 million construction contract. When completed, the new well will allow Medway to use its faulty well only on standby. Flaherty said the earliest a new well might go on line would be April or May.

Flaherty said the vetoed $3.5 million would have eased the burden of construction costs, now bound for residents' utility bills, and would have accelerated further improvements, "freeing up design money to go after a fifth well."

Meanwhile, the $100,000 the town could get under the bond bill would finance further study of a problematic dam along Chicken Brook off Route 109.

Medway Selectman Dennis Crowley said that since the private dam was repaired two years ago, the pond it creates has filled with algae.

"Kids used to be able to swim in the pond," Crowley said. "Now we have pollution problems. Farmlands upstream are putting nitrogen in the water. We've got to find a way to clean that up . . . to see what that dam actually does for us, and what do we do in the future with the pond."

Similarly, $100,000 in the bond bill could finance the next steps for Hopkinton's dam on Lake Maspenock.

The upstream side of the dam's century-old masonry is leaking and needs to be repaired, said John T. Gaucher, the town's DPW director.

Between 2006 and 2008, Hopkinton has been on the fortunate end of state assistance in connection with the dam, Gaucher said.

"This is a third round of $100,000 grants received through help of legislators," Gaucher said. "We received money to do a phase-two report on the dam, and then a second $100,000 to help with trees and design-contract documents."