LYNNFIELD — After years of controversy and dissatisfied homeowners — not to mention plenty of brown water — things may finally be looking up for the embattled Lynnfield Center Water District.
Thursday night at the Meeting House, new LCWD Superintendent John Scenna presided over a public meeting to update residents on the status of the district’s efforts to come up with a solution to solve the dirty water issue plaguing the Apple Hill/Chestnut/Lowell neighborhoods.
The mood at the meeting was markedly different from past meetings where residents routinely blasted the LCWD for its failure to come up with a timely and effective solution to the discolored water flowing through the neighborhood.
Instead, the tone was upbeat and positive with approximately 20 concerned residents listening attentively to a presentation by engineering firm CDM Smith regarding its Apple Hill Neighborhood Study currently underway.
Instead of anger-inspired criticism and confrontational dialogue, the tone was civil with several residents offering thoughtful comments or questions.
One resident said that, for the first time since she moved to Lynnfield 2 ½ years ago, she is confident that LCWD may have turned a positive corner.
“This new group of commissioners and John have done a great job in such a short time compared to the previous group, which really was not giving us any of any information or solutions,” said Erin Denehy. “They are light years beyond the way the problem had been addressed in the past. I know it will take some time, but I have so much more confidence with the team we have in place now.”
CDM Smith representatives said the study is geared at answering several questions, such as, why Apple Hill is affected by brown water more than other neighborhoods, what the extent of the problem is, how LCWD will alleviate the problem and whether or not residents should be concerned about levels of iron and magnesium in their water.
“There is more dirty water there in part because that area is physically closest to the Glen Drive well, which is not treated for iron and magnesium,” said CDM Smith rep Michael Nelson.
Nelson said that LCWD is attempting to determine the extent of the problem by examining the results of recent water sampling done in the area.
LCWD conducted three rounds of sampling in October and November following thorough hydrant flushing in October. CDM indicated it is in the process of analyzing the sample data.
On Wednesday, 368 affected residents found an 11-question survey in their mailboxes that Scenna said will be of critical importance to the study, which is expected to culminate with a system hydraulic model designed by CDM Smith in January. The survey can also be filled out online and on a smartphone.
“The goal is to identify the short-term changes that we can implement to reduce the factors that cause dirty water,” Nelson said.
Short-term solutions include hydrant flushing twice a year and low cost improvements to prevent flow reversal. LCWD already has a rebate program in place to help defray the cost of whole-house filters. Originally $200, LCWD recently increased the rebate to $2,000.
Denehy recently installed a whole house filter in her Lowell Street home. She said the problem she has with brown water has been significantly reduced.
Denehy has two young children and learned that her home had dirty water two days after she and her family moved in two-and-a-half years ago.
“All want is safe drinking water in our home,” she said. “While I don’t see brown water now, it costs about $200 to replace the filter and we have to do that three to four times a year to keep it functionally optimally. We spend about $200 a month for bottled water as I will not use tap water for drinking or cooking.”
Scenna said the ultimate goal is to have a long-term solution to the problem. He identified several options he believes will alleviate the problem, including a system in which 100 % of the water comes from LCWD (currently it’s a mix with Massachusetts Water Resource Authority providing 1/3), a system with significant improvements to the LCWD along with MWRA water, and a system in which the center district taps into the MWRA for all of its water.
“The plan is to present all of the scenarios of how we are to move forward in April,” he said. “We know that we want clean water for the summer and consistently clean water for the future. It’s going to be a project with a series of improvement that at the end of the day will benefit the system and provided a permanent improvement for all.”
