• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Wellesley Square
  • Deland, Gibson Insurance Athlete of the Week
  • Camp
  • Private schools, sponsored by Riverbend
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters to the editor
  • Live government meetings
  • Raiders sports schedules & results
  • Fire & police scanner
  • 2023 Town Election
 
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Wellesley Public Works news: A PFAS warning; Weston Road construction on tap for summer; Wood recycling hot, pricey; Town Meeting article preview

January 18, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The amount of activities handled by the Wellesley Department of Public Works can make your head spin. Even though Mother Nature has taken it easy so far this winter on the DPW, the department has a ton going on, as summarized at the Jan. 10 Board of Public Works meeting (see Wellesley Media recording).

A PFAS warning

To date, Wellesley’s primary problem with unwelcome PFAS chemicals in its drinking water has been at its Morses Pond wells, and that’s been getting treated since the summer. However, DPW Director David Cohen gave a heads up that his team is seeing “discouraging” PFAS numbers at the Longfellow/Rosemary wells, and as of Jan. 10 was bracing for December numbers that could put the town in violation of state thresholds. That would mean the town would need to go through a public notification and education process as it did when its Morses Pond numbers were too high for 3 straight months.

Wellesley gets about 150,000 gallons of water a day out of Rosemary/Longfellow,  whereas it gets about 800,000 gallons a day at Morses Pond, where PFAS treatment is in effect. But the town has also been planning upgrades to the Rosemary/Longfellow site so that it could produce more like 600,000 gallons a day there.

Cohen recommended against going ahead with a $659K well replacement contract for now in light of the PFAS numbers and unclarity on the regulations front. It initially seemed like the replacement would pay for itself within a few years, but the possibility of temporary or permanent PFAS treatment has caused the town to rethink things. One possibility would be putting a contract out to bid for the Rosemary well, but not the Longfellow one, where higher PFAS numbers have surfaced.

The town continues its research into possible sources of PFAS in its water, and while the Morses Pond data is looking inconclusive, there is some indication that Wellesley might be dealing with more of a surface water than ground water situation at Rosemary, which is near Rte. 9.

The town is also continuing talks with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority on building a second connection to it to allow for possibly more use of its water supply. The town relied heavily on MWRA water when the Morses Pond treatment system was down. Wellesley would prefer to rely on its own supply, giving it more control, but the emergence of PFAS has forced the town to consider different options.

This is all happening against a backdrop in which it’s unknown what sort of actions the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency might take regarding PFAS.

Weston Road construction on tap for summer

The next high profile roadway fix-up in town is set to be Weston Road, the high traffic path between Weston and Wellesley Square, with Rte. 9 in between. Weston Road was called Blossom Street back in the day, before being accepted by the town around 1950. The road has taken an expected beating given its heavy use, and the sidewalks overall are in rough condition (fortunately, beneath the road, pipes are generally in good shape). Weston Road was last given a full paving in 1986.

The DPW is already working on the design (funds were set aside for a survey, design and bidding in its FY22 capital plan) for this 3,800-foot-long road, and Wellesley plans to go out for bid on the project this spring. It will look to Town Meeting for funds—construction is estimated to cost $3.5M.

Town Engineer Dave Hickey shared a presentation with the Board of Public Works. Neighbors can expect to hear from the town on this as well, as Wellesley looks to get the project out to bid in the February-March timeframe.

The project has its fair share of challenges, including trees along the sidewalks and narrow rights of way (this, Hickey said, will make adding bike lanes difficult). The big challenge, though, might be that there is no easy way to route detours around this major north-south route that is mostly residential. Roughly 10,000 vehicles head up or down Weston Road each day. “I don’t see a way right now to get this work done without having a significant amount of it be done at night, which we hate to do in residential neighborhoods,” he said.

The hope would be to start construction in June and finish within the season.

Wood recycling hot, pricey

The Wellesley Recycling & Disposal Facility has seen about a 20% increase (vs. its budget) in wood tonnage for recycling. That’s great, as the wood is being kept out of landfills. The troubling thing is that the cost to recycle it is up 70% vs. what was budgeted. It’s unclear at this point if there’s an increase in any particular sort of wood products being brought to the RDF.

wood

New Water & Sewer superintendent

Steve Olson was introduced as the town’s new water & sewer superintendent, succeeding longtime town employee Bill Shaughnessy, who recently retired.

Going electric

The DPW recently took delivery of its first all-electric vehicle, a 2023 Chevy Bolt partially funded with a $7,500  grant from a state grant program.

The Bolt, boasting a range of 247 miles when fully charged, will largely be used for project oversight and inspections in town.

The DPW is prepping for delivery of another 7 electric vehicles that will replace gas-powered ones.

Four charging stations have been installed at DPW headquarters.

bolt dpw
DPW’s Bolt (Town of Wellesley photo)

Town Meeting articles

DPW leaders will present their FY24 budget proposal and Annual Town Meeting warrant articles (including 1 regarding a stormwater enterprise fund) before the Advisory Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 18. The meeting begins at 6:30 and can be viewed on cable TV and online via Wellesley Media.


  • If you like what we do and want to help, please consider making a completely non-deductible contribution
print

Filed Under: Environment, Government

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Riverbend, Natick

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square, Wellesley Merchants
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Beacon Hill Athletic Club, Wellesley
Fay School, Southborough
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Mature Caregivers
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Sign up now for summer camp in Wellesley (and beyond)
  • Before you dump that box of Pokémon cards at the Wellesley Give & Take...
  • Does Wellesley need a new traffic light? Slow down before you drive to any conclusions
  • Live music coming to Wellesley's Lockheart Restaurant
  • Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue

Upcoming Events

Jan 31
9:00 am - 11:00 am Recurring

Coffee and Conversation with the Wetlands Administrator and Staff

Jan 31
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Families Eat Together online presentation

Feb 1
11:59 pm

Deadline for Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club grants application

Feb 3
Featured Featured 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sara Campbell winter warehouse sale

Feb 4
Featured Featured 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sara Campbell winter warehouse sale

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 2023 Boston Marathon charity runners
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • Raiders2002 on Wellesley educators walk out of school as contract negotiations drag on
  • David B on Does Wellesley need a new traffic light? Slow down before you drive to any conclusions
  • LADY WELLESLEY on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Peggy Heffernan on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Beth Dublin on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue

Links we like

  • Danny's Place
  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • 2023 Town Election (3)
  • Animals (428)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (592)
  • Beyond Wellesley (52)
  • Books (376)
  • Business (1,559)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (53)
  • Churches (82)
  • Clubs (236)
  • Construction (300)
  • Dump (130)
  • Education (3,190)
    • Babson College (252)
    • Bates Elementary School (18)
    • Dana Hall School (36)
    • Fiske Elementary School (11)
    • Hardy Elementary School (47)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (46)
    • MassBay (57)
    • Schofield Elementary School (26)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (613)
    • Wellesley High School (996)
    • Wellesley Middle School (204)
  • Embracing diversity (84)
  • Entertainment (814)
  • Environment (772)
  • Fashion (144)
  • Finance (15)
  • Fire (173)
  • Food (358)
  • Fundraising (641)
  • Gardens (164)
  • Government (606)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (15)
  • Health (866)
    • COVID-19 (203)
  • Hikes (6)
  • History (400)
  • Holidays (440)
  • Houses (162)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (867)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (10)
  • Letters to the Editor (73)
  • Media (72)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (13)
  • Morses Pond (109)
  • Music (580)
  • Natick Report (30)
  • Neighbors (280)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (86)
  • Outdoors (655)
  • Parenting (63)
  • Police (778)
    • Crime (395)
  • Politics (554)
  • POPS Senior Profile (10)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (344)
  • Religion (138)
  • Restaurants (340)
  • Safety (155)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (127)
  • Shopping (163)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (1,012)
    • Athlete of the Week (12)
  • STEM (108)
  • Technology (165)
  • Theatre (397)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (240)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,244)
  • Volunteering (350)
  • Weather (179)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (281)
  • Wellesley Holiday Gift Guide (2)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (20)

© 2023 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login