NAHANT — Water main upgrades are underway in Nahant.
Last week, Town Administrator Antonio Barletta announced that work would begin today and continue through September to replace water mains in two separate locations in the community.
Department of Public Works Superintendent Zach Taylor said the objective of the project, which is funded through Massachusetts Water Resources Authority-sponsored zero-interest loans, is to improve water quality and water pressure in the area.
“(It will) aid fire-fighting capabilities,” he said.
Work for the first upgrade will replace two 1¼-inch diameter pipes that run along Furbush and Walton Roads with new, eight-inch water mains. Crews will also install a new hydrant at the midpoint of Furbush Road as part of an effort to loop the town’s water system into an existing hydrant at the end of Forty Steps Lane.
A press release from the town stated the purpose is to eliminate both Nahant’s smallest diameter main, as well as eliminate the town’s longest dead-end section of pipe that currently runs down Forty Steps Lane to the hydrant at the end of the street.
The second upgrade is slated to begin Sept. 7 and will replace six-inch diameter pipes that run along Howe Road and Mills Terrace with eight-inch water mains.
Work for the second upgrade is expected to last approximately three weeks and will ultimately eliminate two sections of aging and undersized water mains. It will also replace a previously damaged hydrant at the end of Mills Terrace, the Town Administrator’s office said.
“The MWRA loan program helps make improvements like this possible,” Town Administrator Tony Barletta said, adding: “This project improving our infrastructure is much needed in these areas of the community.”
