Water main project on budget but drainage pipe issues found

The water main replacement project is proceeding on schedule and on budget, though workers have encountered some blocked drainpipes that will have to be cleared or replaced.

Two of the three piping components of the water main project’s Phase 1 are complete: Bedford Road from the hilltop well down to the five-way intersection, and Lincoln Road from Tower Road to Ballfield Road, Water Superintendent Rick Nolli told the Select Board on September 8. Coming up:

• Week of September 15 — valves will be installed at Weston and Trapelo Roads, which will remain open to traffic.
• Mid- to late September — pipe installation for the section from the five-way intersection from Lincoln Road to Tower Road piping will take place.
• October — workers will do sample and pressure tests and start making connections.
• First week of November — temporary bypasses will be removed and water service through the new mains will start.

Over the summer, there were complaints about water quality in some homes served by a longer temporary above-ground pipe exposed to the heat, but flushing the pipe plus cooler weather mitigated the problem, Nolli said.

However, during the course of excavation on Bedford Road, workers discovered that the roadway/stormwater drains that connect the catch basins to the main drain line that runs down the center of the road were disintegrating. The contractor was told to replace those cross drains since they’re located above the new water main. This raised the question of whether the main drainage line and not just the smaller cross drains also need to be replaced, DPW Superintendent Steve Olson said.

The town has hired a consultant to do camera inspections on the main line, which thus far have shown two blockages. The hope is that cleaning and internally relining the affected pipe segments will solve the problem. Doing that work on the Bedford Road section will cost about $300,000, but if the pipes actually need to be replaced, the cost would be four to five times that amount, Town Administrator Tim Higgins said.

Unless the pipes are in imminent danger of collapse, the town will crate a capital planning request for the next budget cycle. “We are not currently anticipating some type of emergency procurement/change order to have the water main contractor do the stormwater drain repair/replacement,” Higgins wrote in a memo to other town officials.

If immediate repairs are in fact required, they could be funded by the town’s Chapter 90 funds, and/or a reserve fund transfer. “This scenario is certainly not ideal as the current plan is to use our Chapter 90 funds to keep the roads in reasonable condition until we can get bonds approved for the next major pavement project. Draining the Reserve Fund so early in the fiscal year is also problematic,” he wrote.

Phase 2 from Ballfield Road to Codman Road is still in the design phase and will go out to bid in February, Nolli said. Workers will try to maintain one lane open at all times. “We’re hoping we don’t have to redirect traffic because it’s along detour to get around that section of Lincoln Road,” Nolli said, adding that the part near the mall “is going to be a tight area” as well.

Voters approved $2.2 million in bonding for Phase 1 in 2023 and another $6.2 million in March 2025 for Phase 2. Water rates are expected to rise by 10% in each of the next four years to pay those debts.