CRWA in the NewsWater worries worsenJohn Larrabee, The Woonsocket Call August 2, 2005 BLACKSTONE -- One of the state’s top environmental groups is warning the town’s water resources are already strained, and continued construction could make the problem worse. "When you pave the surface, you block rainwater from entering the ground," says Nigel Pickering, an engineer who helped author the report. "And when water goes down sewer pipes, it’s leaving town for the treatment center in Woonsocket." The report by the Charles River Watershed Association makes no specific mention of the controversial Sycamore Meadows project planned off Elm Street. But Bill Walsh, who chairs the town’s Water and Sewer Commission, believes the report will "absolutely" help build a case against Sycamore Meadows. The project, which calls for 147 condominiums on 29 acres, would be hooked to a new sewer line now being built on Elm Street. The developer is taking advantage of a state law -- known as Chapter 40b -- that allows him to skirt local zoning and density regulations by including some units state officials consider "affordably-priced." "You want to do everything possible to recharge the aquifer," Walsh says. "When you bring in a large 40b and tie into the sewer system, not a single drop of the water used on that property is recharged. And the more pavement you have on the property, the less recharge you’ll have." Pickering, however, is less certain. "Generally these 40b projects can bypass some environmental regulations," he says. A summary of the report appears in the association’s latest newsletter. A complete copy will be available in town offices in several weeks, after the group has made revisions. The report notes the town’s five wells are located near the Quick River, a Blackstone River tributary, and states that water usage has "stressed" the aquifer. The authors compare the Quick River watershed to a checkbook with too much going out, and not enough coming in. The Lower Mill River, another tributary is also stressed, while the Blackstone River itself is described as "moderately stressed." The association recommends the town or state buy up land that could serve as groundwater recharge sites. The ideals spots would sand and gravel areas as far from the those rivers as possible, so that springtime’s the high volume of storm water is held in the ground until fall. The report also recommends the town limit any further sewer construction, and adopt new bylaws to control loss of storm water. Pickering points out that septic systems return water to the ground, and if tanks are well maintained, they should remove or contain bacteria and dangerous substances. "The common notion is that sewer lines are better," he says. "They absolutely do minimize health risks, but you’re also drying up your aquifer. Everything you can do to keep water from leaving protects the aquifer." He adds there are many ways to capture storm water and return it too the ground. "If a paved area slopes toward the road, rainwater is going to reach a storm drain or a channel, and from there it moves very rapidly to a stream," he says. "Driveways can be sloped so that water flows onto a lawn. And you can catch some of that storm water and route it into a dry well, especially rooftop run-off, which is very clean water." He suggests Blackstone require developers who tie into sewer lines to take steps to conserve water, a system known as "sewer offsets." In other towns that have adopted the system, a builder must show he is conserving two to five gallons for every gallon that goes down the pipes. He adds that some large developments now include small sewage facilities -- known as "package plants" -- that return treated wastewater to the local aquifer. It is usual for the Charles River Watershed Association to conduct studies in towns along the Blackstone River. However, the organization has been active in Blackstone since the early ’90s, when American National Power built large generating plants in this town and in neighboring Bellingham, which straddles the Charles. |