Haley and Ward, Inc.

Civil and Environmental Engineers

WEST STREET WATER SUPPLY

BOARD OF WATER COMMISSIONERS

GEORGETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts has awarded the Georgetown Board of Water Commissioners and Haley and Ward their 2002 Small Firm Award for Engineering Excellence.  The project, West Street Water Supply, involved the construction of an access road, water main, bridge, well and pump station and a water treatment plant off West Street in the Town of Georgetown, Massachusetts.  

While the Georgetown Water Department controls several hundred acres in the area of the West Street Water Supply project; land area available for the project development was somewhat limited.  The proposed pump station site, access road and bridge were all located in a protected wildlife habitat area.  The Parker River, bordering wetlands and the adjacent uplands are excellent habitat for two species of special concern: the Spotted Turtle and the Wood Turtle  

Haley and Ward designed the project to follow a historical cart path across the river at an existing ford.  The roadway width was minimized to limit impact but also provide unrestricted year round access to the pump station site.  The bridge over the Parker River was designed to reduce on-site work effort.  The pump station foundation includes concrete wing walls to eliminate wetland filling while keeping all the station floor and equipment above the 100-year flood plain.  

While the treatment plant construction was completed partially within the habitat area, the restrictions here related to the adjacent recreational uses.  In the years prior to the site development, the Board of Water Commissioners had allowed the local soccer league to develop recreational fields.  Today, the fields are used extensively throughout the warm weather season.  The Board was initially concerned that a treatment plant would need this upland area for backwash wastewater treatment.  The owner was hesitant to eliminate the available recreational field space.  Haley and Ward’s design of a backwash water reuse system reduced the land area required for treatment lagoons by 90%.  The reduced land requirement could be obtained within the project site without the loss of any of the recreational fields.  Use of the fields continued throughout the construction process and the site remains very active today.  

Limited screening was maintained between the road and the treatment plant structure to break up the size of the facility while also allowing visual inspection for security reasons.  The front elevation has a red brick veneer; the side elevations are concrete block with brick pilasters used to break up the mass of the 100 by 40 foot structure.  The net result of the building design was an attractive front façade as the primary focus of the building.  The building developed a historical appearance that blended in well with the rural neighborhood.  The overall construction was relatively economical.  For the cost of split block construction, the owner constructed a building that created interest and was well accepted by the local residents.   

The south facing elevation of the treatment plant includes a 16-foot square insulated glass roll up door.  The door provides passive solar heating of the concrete floor within the treatment plant process area.  The door also provides visual access to the process area from the street.  The large treatment filters are visible through the door.  This feature opens the treatment process to the public to instill confidence in the water supply