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Bridgewater commission allows emergency water‑treatment work at Wells 10A and 10B while requiring after‑the‑fact filing
Summary
The Bridgewater Conservation Commission voted June 11 to permit emergency water‑treatment work at Wells 10A and 10B to proceed immediately while consultants file an after‑the‑fact Notice of Intent; commissioners said the public‑health urgency outweighed delaying work pending a full NOI review.
The Bridgewater Conservation Commission voted June 11 to allow emergency water‑treatment work at Wells 10A and 10B to continue immediately, with the town’s Department of Public Works and consultants to file an after‑the‑fact Notice of Intent as soon as possible.
Commission members and staff described recent site activity at 719 Plymouth Street: concrete pads and treatment vessels for iron and manganese removal and a lined lagoon to hold backwash water have already been installed and some equipment is in place. The DPW director said the work was supported by emergency certifications from state offices and urged the commission to let construction continue, saying delays would harm the town’s water supply.
Why it matters: The treatment work responds to an ongoing drinking‑water issue in Bridgewater. Commission and DPW staff said stopping work would risk service interruptions; allowing continuation enables crews to stabilize the system while formal wetlands review proceeds.
Commissioners, who inspected the site, described the project as two phases: (1) the immediate treatment pad and vessels and (2) a later lagoon installation. The DPW director described the proposed lagoon as roughly 75 feet wide and about 200 feet long; drilling and test pits for subsurface confirmation were delayed by equipment scheduling and were rescheduled for the week after the meeting. Staff said erosion controls and silt fencing are already in place around active work areas.
The commission’s vote authorized the emergency work to continue on the condition that the project team files a Notice of Intent covering the lagoon and any additional work as an after‑the‑fact submission and that staff be allowed to observe test pits and borings. Members emphasized ongoing site inspections; one commissioner asked to be notified when drilling begins so staff can witness borings.
Next steps: The project team will carry out test pits and borings, file the after‑the‑fact NOI, and provide the commission with the documentation from the state emergency certifications. The commission will monitor construction and review the NOI when filed.
