Image courtesy DeathCafe.com.
By Alice Waugh
Death, like sex and money, is not usually considered a topic for frank conversation in America. But an event in Lincoln later this month aims to challenge and overcome that reluctance.
Greg Woods, Lincoln Water Department superintendent, with one of the membrane filters used to treat clean the town’s water. See below for more photos. —Photos by Alice Waugh
By Alice Waugh
You don’t have to think about it — just turn on your tap and clean water flows. For most Lincoln households, that water starts its journey in Flint’s Pond and navigates a surprisingly intricate route on its way to your shower, sink or lawn — a journey that once involved wooden water mains and a coal-fired pump.
All but about 400 Lincoln residents (mostly on Old County Road and Conant Road) get town water, which is pumped from Flint’s Pond via a pump house next to the pond, explained Lincoln Water Department Superintendent Greg Woods. From there, it travels north across Sandy Pond Road to a nondescript one-story building where an automated system adds sodium hydroxide to adjust the pH, sodium fluoride to help prevent tooth decay, and zinc orthophosphate to reduce corrosion in the water pipes.
Then all the water — anywhere from 450,000 to 900,000 gallons a day — passes through a membrane filtration system before heading to a 20-foot-tall holding tank at the top of a hill on Bedford Road. (The 1.2-million-gallon tank won’t offend anyone’s aesthetic sensibilities, however; all but two feet of it are buried underground.) From there, the treated and filtered water flows through Lincoln’s 57 miles of water mains to residents’ faucets.
There are several safety and backup systems in place to keep the water flowing in case of emergency. The pump house has an emergency backup generator that runs on natural gas in case of a power outage. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, it kept the water flowing for three full days, Woods said. There’s also a well on Tower Road that serves as a secondary water source when the main facility requires maintenance. And the system’s water is sampled every two weeks at various locations in town and tested to make sure the chemistry is correct and that there are no harmful pathogens present.
Lincoln has had a water department since 1874. In the old days, water was drawn from the pond, screened in the small house at the water’s edge and pumped directly to homes via a coal-fired facility that was torn down in 1900, Woods said. Today, the larger building houses the modern pumping facility and generator as well as repair equipment and an assortment of old water meters and gate boxes — the metal tubes set into roadway and sidewalks with caps that workers can remove to access each gate, or valve, to shut off water between two points.
The state Department of Environmental Protection eventually began requiring towns to disinfect surface water that’s piped to homes (water from public and private wells below a certain depth doesn’t have this requirement), so Lincoln built the disinfection facility in 1993 and added the membrane filtration system in 2003. The disused screening building next to the pond is still there, although it started sliding off its foundation about 15 years ago and a resident paid to have it filled with cement to anchor it in place.
The pond itself is closed to all recreational use including swimming, fishing, skating and even picnicking by the shore. “I don’t want to be a Nazi and shoo people away because it really is a beautiful sight, but it is our main water supply,” Woods said.
Owing to the lack of human predators, “there are some really big fish in there,” said Woods. The pond is about 35 feet at its deepest, and one can see down about 15 feet from the surface. “It’s a very, very clear pond,” he said. Canada geese visit now and then, but he chases them off in a boat to minimize bacteriological contamination from bird poop.
Not surprisingly, residents use a lot more water in the summer, when lawns and gardens get their share. In fact, the time of day with the highest demand is at about 3 a.m., because many homeowners have their sprinkler systems hooked up to timers that are set to soak the plants in the middle of the night, which is better for them than getting water in the heat of the day. There’s also a morning and evening rush, when residents are taking showers, using toilets, cooking meals and doing the dishes.
At first glance, Massachusetts doesn’t seem to resemble the Southwest in terms of water supply, but, “there are some very stressed water basins in the state,” Woods said. By state law, residents are supposed to limit themselves to 65 gallons of water per person per day, and Lincoln “has been hanging out in the upper 60s,” he said. Over the course of a year, Lincoln uses 200 million gallons of town water, but the town is supposed to reduce its usage to 182 million gallons to comply with current regulations.
Although there are no specific penalties at the moment, towns must show they have plans in place for conservation and leak detection and are making progress. In Lincoln, sandwich boards appear around town during the growing season to remind residents that they may use outside water only twice a week. Some residents get around the limit by using a private well for outdoor irrigation and town water just for indoor use, Woods noted.
Another state-mandated water conservation rule says that no more than 10 percent of pumped water may be lost to leaks somewhere in the system. Lincoln loses somewhere between 10 and 20 percent each year, “so we need to find some leaks,” Woods said. The town must repair leaks up to each owner’s property line, but homeowners are responsible for fixing pipes on their property.
If townwide water usage town suddenly spikes, workers will look for an underground leak by listening from surface points between hydrants with headphones to try to pin down the location of the suspected leak (though sometimes it remains a mystery — see the Lincoln Squirrel, Aug. 17, 2013). Water escaping from a crack in a pipe agitates the surrounding sediment, which causes vibrations that can be picked up on sophisticated detection systems. A contractor also inspects the entire system using this method once a year and identifies, on average, about a dozen locations annually (including faulty hydrants) that are leaking more than one gallon a minute, Woods said.
Leaks are a never-ending issue because many of the water mains are quite old, but it’s prohibitively expensive to replace them before they actually fail. The original water mains were made of wood strips held together with metal bands, because cast iron was very expensive back in the day. The town eventually moved to cast iron pipes and, more recently, longer-lasting ductile iron.
“We have pipe in the ground that’s more than 100 years old,” said Woods, pointing to an ancient pipe segment that had become drastically narrowed from the inside by iron and manganese deposits. Nowadays, water mains are flushed once a year by opening hydrants. This creates an artificial leak that causes the system to pump water at higher pressure to compensate, and the temporary rush of water scours the deposits the inside the pipes.
Though it’s safe to drink, the water that day might be a bit discolored, so notices are posted about when hydrant flushing will take place. “You don’t want to launder your silk curtains that day,” Woods said.
Click on an image below to see larger versions and captions.
Photos by Alice Waugh
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Carol Lovell, Eliza Jevon, William Jevon and Megan Stride informally ran the July 4 Lincoln road race. Photo by Rob Jevon
Undaunted by the cancellation of most of the town’s July 4 events, some residents are staging their own celebrations in observance of Independence Day.
Among those who decided to complete the road race loop on their own this morning were Carol Lovell, Eliza Jevon and William Jevon, and Megan Stride. “There were just some spontaneous folks that decided to run the course,” said Rob Jevon, Eliza and William’s father.
Another group of parents with young children decided to do a children’s bike parade tomorrow morning (July 5) at 10:00 a.m. around the ballfield on the Lincoln School campus. “Bring your decorated bikes, scooters, strollers, etc. and spread the word,” Lincoln resident DJ Mitchell said in a note sent to the LincolnTalk email list.
The concert, barbecue and fireworks display scheduled for July 4 will take place on July 5. Food from the Firebox in Bedford will be served starting at 7 p.m. and music by Grove Syndicate will begin at 7:30. The pool will be open from 12:30-7 p.m.). Parking in available for $20 per car.
Although the parade was not rescheduled, anyone who created a float and would like to have it photographed for posterity may email Pam Gallup at pamgallup@aol.com.
Left to right: Dan Boynton and Susan Taylor, members of the First Parish Church Outreach Committee; Marilyn Lee-Tom, executive director of the Community Day Center; and Annie Preston Knowles, eldest daughter of Jean Wood Preston.
The Outreach Committee of the First Parish Church recently presented a check for $25,000 to the Community Day Center in Waltham to build a kitchen at their new site on Felton Street. This donation was made possible by a charitable fund established by Jean Wood Preston, a former member of the First Parish.
The Community Day Center of Waltham is the only day shelter in the MetroWest region. This drop-in center supports the homeless and those in need with legal, health, housing and job search assistance through counseling and case management. It also provides its guests with food, shelter and access to phones, computers and a mailing address.
First Parish Outreach contributed a total of $53,961 from the congregation this year to a variety of local and international charitable organizations. This is the result of the church’s commitment to donate 15 percent of its annual revenue to organizations that work to honor each person’s dignity and to cherish the living Earth.
The Parks and Recreation Department’s 2o14 Events Subcommittee Parade Crew is inviting all Lincolnites to participate in the annual July 4 parade. This year’s parade theme is “Lincoln: Something to Crow About!” to celebrate Lincoln’s pride in its agricultural heritage that continues today with numerous farms and hundreds of farm animals.
The parade marshal will be retiring Police Chief Kevin Mooney. After 36 years of service, Chief Mooney is stepping down on June 30, but he’ll make one last appearance in uniform for the town during the parade, when spectators will have the chance to salute his service to Lincoln.
Residents are also invited to create a float or creative entry that has some fun with the parade theme theme or our marshal. Prizes will be awarded for the most creative floats as participants march in the parade. Download a parade application here and email the completed form to eventssubcommittee@gmail.com or mail it to the Parks and Recreation Department, 16 Lincoln Rd. On the morning of July 4, please meet on Ballfield Road before 9:45 a.m.
Parade organizers remind paraders that throwing candy along the route is not allowed, because children are prone to running into harm’s way in pursuit of treats. Handing candy out alongside your float will be just as appreciated and much safer for all.
Parade subcommittee members are Maggie Dwyer, Michela Eckhouse, Sam Kupperstein, Riley McCabe, Eve Montie and Nick Virkler.
Outdoor water use restrictions in effectUnder the annual mandatory restriction on outdoor water public water use, which runs from May 1 through September 30, outdoor water use is allowed only twice a week depending on your house number. Even-numbered houses may use outdoor water on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays, while odd-numbered houses may do so on Wednesdays and/or Fridays. All water use must take place between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Drip irrigation is allowed only on the specified days but may be done at any hour of the day. Restricted activities included:
Exceptions include irrigation to establish a new lawn and plantings during the months of May and September and watering lawns, gardens, flowers and ornamental plants by means of a hand-held hose. For complete details, see this Lincoln Water Department web page.
The Creek River String Band (CRSB) will perform at LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) on Monday, June 9 from 7-10 p.m. in Bemis Hall. CRSB has been making waves in the New England music scene with a mix of bluegrass,Tex-Mex, folk, pop and blues tunes! Band members are Stroker Rogovin (accordion, vocals), Jeremy Majewski (banjo), Doug Turnbull (mando, guitar, vocals), Fred Kosak (guitar, mando, vocals), Kim Patch (fiddle) and Eric Smalley (Bass). CRSB performs regularly at local venues, such as Sally O’Briens and Precinct. They recently released their first EP, Creek River String Band.
LOMA is a monthly event. Perform or just come listen to acoustic music and spoken word. Admission is free and refreshments are provided. Performers can sign up at the event or email Rich Eilbert at loma3re@gmail.com before noon of the open-mike day for a slot. Names of those who are signed up by 7:15 will be drawn at random. We have a sound system with mikes and instrumental pickups suitable for individuals or small groups playing acoustic-style. Brad Meyer and Brent Clark ably handle the sound. We expect everyone will have a chance to perform, but in case of overflow, the first 20 performers to sign up will be given priority.
The fall lineup for LOMA will include Julie Dougherty on September 8, the Wednesdays on October 20, the Rafters on November 10, and Glenn Pettit on December 8.
Join other Codman Community Farms members for a fun family overnight to support the farm. Pitch your tent at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 14. Dinner catered by Blue Ribbon Barbecue, plus s’mores, games and an old-fashioned singalong around the campfire. There will be breakfast on Sunday with coffee, orange juice and bagels. A tent site is $30 and includes breakfast for all campers in the tent. Tickets ($25 for adults, $15 for children under 12) need to be purchased by all campers and are also available to those just wishing to come for the evening. Reserve online at www.codmanfarm.org, call 781-259-0456 or email info@codmanfarm.org.
Lincoln residents of all ages are invited to meet with a nurse through a free town service. Come to get your blood pressure and/or body mass index checked, ask questions, or learn about wellness resources. Clinics will be held at the Community Building at Lincoln Woods (50 Wells Rd.) from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, June 13 and Friday, July 11. These clinics are funded by the Ogden Codman Trust and provided by Emerson Hospital Home Care. For more information, please call the Council on Aging at (781-259-8811.
Rick Roth, snake expert and director of the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team, will talk about the lives and habits of his favorite snakes from New England and around the world on Saturday, June 14 from 3-4 p.m. in Hartwell Pod B. This show-and-tell will allow the audience to see these creatures up close… or at a safe distance. Co-sponsored by the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust and the Parks and Recreation Department. Suggested donation of $5, or $15 for a family of three or more.
The Lincoln Recycling Committee is holding its third annual bike drive for Bikes Not Bombs on Saturday, June 28 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Hartwell parking lot. All types of bikes, adult or children’s, in any condition, parts, and/or condition are appreciated. The committee will partner with Bikes Not Bombs, which ships about 5,000 donated bikes to economic development projects in Ghana, Tanzania, Guatemala and Nevis Island each year. The remaining collected bikes are used in the organization’s Jamaica Plain location for the youth Earn-a-Bike programs, and others are repaired by teenage mechanics as part of their vocational training programs. Bikes Not Bombs requests a $10 per bike donation to defray storage, processing and shipping costs. The organization can provide a signed, dated receipt for the cash donation and the value of each donated bicycle. To learn more, contact Laura Berland at 781-259-8149 or lauraberland@comcast.net, or Bernadette Quirk at 781-259-3186 or quirkx4@msn.com.
The Old Town Hall Exchange is offering four intergenerational crafts workshops at Bemis Hall featuring artists associated with the Exchange. The workshops are for middle or high school students and adults. Each workshop costs $15 per person. Please sign up by calling the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811.
These workshops are supported in part by a grant from the Lincoln Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.
The escapee cows as photographed by Old Sudbury Road resident Julie Brogan though her window.
A Lincoln police cruiser was on hand to keep order until the cows came home.
A group of adventurous bovines apparently took “spring break” to a new level, briefly escaping from their pasture on Old Sudbury Road before being returned to their enclosure with no harm done.
The cows were photographed by alert resident Julie Brogan after they apparently escaped from their enclosure and strolled down the road on a stormy day in late April. Lincoln police were called and responded quickly, though fortunately there was no need for a high-speed chase. Police arrived at about the same time as the cows’ farmer, who herded his charges back home.
“They decided to take a little nature walk in a rainy day,” said Lincoln Police Officer Ian Spencer. “I guess they needed a change of scenery and decided to break out.”
The LSB Players at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School will stage the final two performances of The 39 Steps tonight and tomorrow, May 2 and 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Kirschner Auditorium. Based on the classic Hitchcock movie, The 39 Steps is an hilarious farce of mistaken identity, who done it, and deadpan humor. Produced in conjunction with the English Department’s Drama in Production class, the show will incorporate complex stagecraft sure to be crowd-pleasing. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. Go to the LSB Tickets webpage to reserve seats.
Also at L-S in May, the Lincoln-Sudbury Civic Orchestra (LSCO) will wrap up its 2013-2014 season with its spring concert on Friday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. Interim Conductor Ray Daniels will direct the orchestra in the overture to Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute, Gabriel Faure’s Pavane for a Dead Princess, Alexander Borodin’s On the Steppes of Central Asia, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony (#5). L-S senior and Sudbury resident Emily Liang is the featured soloist in the Concerto in A minor, RV 356, by Antonio Vivaldi. Admission is a suggested donation of $10 for adults or $5 for students and senior citizens. A reception will follow the concert.
LSCO is a volunteer community orchestra comprising high school students and adult community members who share a love for preparing and performing substantial orchestral repertoire. The members have classical music training at the intermediate to advanced level and rehearse weekly. Neither professional performing experience nor residence in Lincoln or Sudbury are requirements for membership. Daniels also serves as associate conductor for the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra and has conducted symphony orchestras throughout the U.S.
For more information about this concert or about participation as a performing member, contact the orchestra at lscivicorchestra@gmail.com.
Please join us for Codman Farm’s Volunteer Spring Cleanup Work Day on Saturday, May 3 starting at 8:30 a.m. Come for the day or come for an hour. Volunteers will be treated to a great lunch. We’ll find a task to suit your energy level and time commitment. Tasks include:
Dance Spot at deCordova.
Try out your moves on outdoor dance floors in the deCordova Sculpture Park on Sunday, May 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Multimedia artist Elisa H. Hamilton pairs colorful diagrams, site-specific dance routines and songs in her participatory installation Dance Spot. Free with admission or membership.
Also on Sunday at the deCordova: celebrate jewelry artist Wiwat Kamolpornwijit, Artist of the Month at the deCordova Store for May 2014, during a drop-in weekend reception at 2 p.m. Admission to deCordova Store is always free.
Get out your trowels and potting soil—it’s time for the Lincoln Garden Club’s biennial fundraiser plant sale on Saturday, May 10 at the Codman Barn. There will be something for every type of garden including perennials from local gardens, rare and unusual specimens, patio planters, herbs and shade plants. This year we have an abundant number of peonies and unusual lilies and irises, as well as hostas, ornamental grasses, echinacea, daisies, geraniums, anemones, spirea, trillium, astilbe, bee balm, bleeding heart, coriopsis, rubeckia, and much more. To entertain the kids, the Garden Club has a fun hands-on craft planned that will make a perfect Mother’s Day gift.
Plants will be sold from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., so plan to spend the morning browsing for plants. This fundraiser supports the Garden Club activities such as the planter in front of the library, floral arrangements for home-bound residents, and public lectures on gardening topics. Questions? Email Belinda.gingrich@verizon.net. Learn more on the Lincoln Garden Club website and hear news about meetings and events.
Join fellow Lincolnites for a night of a capella at Bemis Hall on Friday, May 16 from 7-10 p.m. to support LEAP (the Lincoln Extended-day Activities Program). There will be food, drinks and fun, as well as a silent auction and raffle to support LEAP, Lincoln’s longtime afterschool program. Prizes to bid on include dinner and a movie with babysitting, gift certificates to salons, a basket of wine, a loaf of bread every month for six months from Nashoba Valley Bakery, 18 holes of golf, Red Sox tickets, and more. Tickets are $25 ($30 at the door). Come to LEAP to purchase tickets in advance. Child care for the event will be provided at LEAP for $10 per child. Reserve a spot by May 14. To donate something to our benefit auction or raffle, please contact Kathryn Hawkins at978-505-8751.
Rev. Daniel MacDonald and Eva Elder of St. Anne’s show off their pie-baking skills.
St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church is hosting a pie-baking competition as a fundraiser for the youth mission trip this summer. The event takes place starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 16 in Flint Hall. We’ll have pies for judging, pies for eating and pies for buying.
You can submit a pie to be judged in any one of four pie categories (fruit, custard and cream, savory, and exotic); prizes will be awarded for each category as well as Best in Show. Register online at www.stanneslincoln.org. There will also be a pizza pie dinner and live music with admission to this fabulous event. Come hear more about our mission trip to New York City in July, and help support its funding by entering a pie, or buying a pie, or just coming to enjoy the festivities.
The Lincoln METCO Coordinating Committee (MCC) will present the 45-minute film What Makes Me White? on Monday, May 19 at 6 p.m. in the Brooks Auditorium. The documentary discusses the role of race in the daily lives of white people. Designed as a gentle tool for the classroom, boardroom, and house of worship, the film avoids blame, guilt, or “political correctness.” The hope is to inspire individuals to reflect on the invisible influence of whiteness on personality and life. The audience will engage in a discussion of the feelings and thoughts raised by the film. Students in grades 6-8 can also see the film on Wednesday, May 21 at 12:40 p.m. Lunch will be provided courtesy of the MCC.
The Circle of Giving for South Sudanese Women includes (top row) Janet Ready, Cathy Rogers, Nancy Fleming, Ann Helmus and (bottom row) Ellen Matathia, Susan Winship, Anne Doyle and Bean Nardi. Photo courtesy Sandy Storer.
By Alice Waugh
Lincoln women are invited to an open house on Thursday hosted by the Circle of Giving for South Sudanese Women, a grassroots organization that grew out of efforts several years ago by Lincoln resident Susan Winship and others to help the “lost boys of Sudan.”
[Read more…] about Thursday event to recruit help for South Sudanese women
If you need help paying your winter fuel bill, the Commonwealth’s Fuel Assistance Program may be able to help. The program provides a cash benefit (payable to an authorized fuel provider) for both home owners and renters whose incomes are eligible. How much you receive depends on your household income, how many people you have in your household, and your heating costs. Recipients may also be eligible for other benefits, such as weatherization services, heating system repairs, discount utility rates, and Citizens Energy heat assistance programs.
To apply for fuel assistance, residents of all ages should call Pam Alberts of the Lincoln Council on Aging at 781-259-8811 to set up an appointment. The Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) will review the application to determine whether you are eligible or not.
For Lincoln residents who have an unforeseen and extreme financial emergency that threatens their wellbeing, the Lincoln Emergency Assistance Fund (LEAF) and the Small Necessities Project may be able to help. LEAF provides assistance of up to $700 per year or $1,000 per lifetime in those situations where that amount will allow someone to stay in our community. LEAF is supported entirely by the Ogden Codman Trust, the First Parish Church, and donations.
The Small Necessities Project can provide immediate help if a resident has no food in the house, needs emergency medication, needs a night or two of lodging due to a fire or flood, or has a similar need. This project is funded by the Ogden Codman Trust and donations.
For more information or to ask for assistance, call Pam Alberts at the COA at 781-259-8811.