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New Shoreham officials report nearly finished SCADA upgrade, tank construction and planned Payne Road wells
Summary
Town staff said a SCADA automation upgrade is nearly complete, a new storage tank is under construction with concrete pour scheduled before winter, and contracts were awarded for two wells on the Payne Road site; some electric supply delays may push full well operation beyond next summer.
Town water and sewer staff told the Town Council on Oct. 21 that multiple infrastructure projects are progressing but face timing and supply challenges.
John (staff) said about $300,000 remained from a 2021 USDA grant and that work on a SCADA (automation) upgrade is close to completion: two treatment units are online now and three more are expected the following week, which staff say will improve remote monitoring and reduce the need for overnight manual adjustments. "That project's about wrapping up," John said, adding that improved automation should make operations safer and allow staff to respond to leaks or breaks without manual nighttime interventions.
Contractors have broken ground on a new storage tank (awarded to Ian Acello, the same contractor who built an earlier tank). John described the installation method and said crews aim to pour concrete before the cold weather and assemble the tank rapidly in spring. Council members noted the new tank footing sits very close to the road; staff said plans include a split-rail fence, bollards and shrubs for protection.
The council also discussed two wells planned on the 7-acre Payne Road parcel purchased by the Rhode Island Water Resources Board and leased to the town for $1. John said Lofran Boys has a drilling contract and the team (including hydrogeology firm Wright-Pierce) expects to begin drilling as early as December, but electrical equipment and supply-chain delays for three-phase power could push full operation beyond next summer.
Dylan (district staff) reported that Old Harbor pump-station upgrades — replacing pumps and controls that dated to the 1970s, adding variable-frequency drives, wet-well monitoring, bypass piping and SCADA integration — are in final installation phases and should provide several years of reliable service.
Staff said they will replace older yard piping and complete the treatment-train addition and building renovations when crews return for the next phase of construction.
Council members thanked staff for the work and emphasized the community benefit of additional storage and redundancy as customers with failing wells come online.
