Hello and welcome to Hopkinington Works. I'm Ela Lazarus, Hopington's town manager, and I'm glad to be here and share insights and information on what makes Hopington work. On this episode, I'll be talking with Jed Fenf, the town's water and sewer manager. Welcome, Jed. >> Hello. Thank you.
>> Uh to start with, could you please describe what you do for the town? >> So, I oversee the operation, maintenance, and regulatory compliance of the water distribution system and the wastewater collection system.
>> Okay. Um and can you tell us a little bit about your professional background and how you came to be in this in this field? >> Sure. So, out of high school, I uh joined the Army National Guard and I served in the 181 Engineer Battalion for
7 years. And then I worked for a pipe supply company here in town and I worked there for 10 years where I learned um everything about uh the underground utility industry.
And then from there I went to the town of Framingham as a um water technician. And when I left Framingham I I came here and I've been here for 15 years. >> And what is it that interested you in this field?
Um I would say this field is so interesting because um water and sewer are the cornerstones of our society and it's um you know
foundational to a successful society. So because it's such an important thing and we we affect people's lives directly, it it really makes you know gives me a good feeling to to work in this this line of work.
>> And is there a typical path for someone to get into this or how can someone enter this profession? Um, so what I would recommend if somebody was interested is you could look into the associations like uh American Waterworks
or uh New England Waterworks which is based out of Hollist or um the Mass Waterworks Association. All those associations have um training and they can tell you they'll
have like a calendar where they actually go to job fairs. So if you know students were interested uh there's so many facets to our line of work, engineering, operations, chemistry, everything you name it,
construction. So I would start with those uh associations. Look, you know that you can also get your license through those associations. You can get your your drinking water license. And then um one
I didn't mention was uh any WIP PCC uh New England um Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. and you can go on there and and learn of what you would need to do to be able to
get certified to work in this field. >> So that it seems really interesting that I mean these are really important systems that people depend on for their daily lives. So there's licensing required >> um and certifications because of the public safety, public health and other
aspects of that. >> Um >> uh what might attract people to this work and what do you find rewarding about it? Um, the thing that tracks me is is our work affects people in their in their
everyday lives. Like what we do on a daily basis, um, whether people realize it or not, like they're seeing our work every day when you turn on the the faucet or when you flush your toilet. So I I I think the attraction would be, you know,
serving a a a community and it's and it's rewarding to, you know, supply people with one of the most important things is, you know, drinking water and the proper removal of of sewer. And then uh with regard to Hopkin's
systems in general um in specifically in Hopkin so we have water and we have sewer and not all residents receive um both or all services and the same for businesses. So is part of the town served by town water and part not served
by it? >> Yeah. So, um I think it's somewhere around 40% on the the sewer system, but we have, you know, 4,000 water connections. Our water comes from uh eight drinking
water wells, and we also purchase water from the town of Ashland, the House Street Treatment Plant. And we have um eight sewer pumping stations. And um you know there's different parts
of the town that you know aren't on the municipal sewer and water >> and so on water is all our town buildings including the schools as well. >> Most of them yeah most of the public buildings are on on town water. Mhm. So,
uh people may receive the people even if someone gets their water from a private well, for example, they're still, you know, going to a public building and and using those those services as well. >> Absolutely. >> So, the water comes from several wells, uh groundwater wells that we have around
town and some from Ashland. >> Um and then where does our sewer go? So, our sewer collects all around town and it flows to our Wood Street pump station. And from our Wood Street pump station, it's pumps up Saddle Hill Road
and there's a diversion structure there. And part of our sewer goes to Westboro. the the bulk of it goes to Westboro and then a small portion goes to our Fruit Street wastewater treatment plant around right now we're operating at say 40,000
gallons a day but I believe it can be upgraded in the future if for more use so >> so it gets so the the um the flow that goes to the sewer treatment plant uh what happens there how does it get treated and then where does it go >> so the
wastewater treatment plant rece receives the influent. It goes through the headworks and goes through the um through the treatment process and then it goes out into a retention field and basically recharges back into the aquifer
>> after when it exits it's uh is it drinkable? >> Clean water. >> Clean water. Okay. All right. And then the flow that goes to Westboro, does it undergo a similar process? that goes to the Westboro treatment plant and it goes through a a process there as well.
>> Okay. So, in both cases, it comes out as clean clean water and gets infiltrated into the ground or a stream perhaps. >> Um, could you tell us about something you're currently working on or have worked on recently?
Yeah. So we are making a great effort to update our GIS system, our geographical information system and we are trying to digitize all our records and we are trying to go throughout the town and
geollocate all our assets, hydrants, gate valves, water manes and all that stuff. and that allows us to help operate the system, track things, keep data.
So, um we've really that's been this last year we've been really working close with um the IT department is a big help to us and we work with um private engineering firms. We've done a lot of work. We just recently last year um
geolloccated all of our gate valves which was a part of a project where we're working towards creating a flushing program. So once you have all these assets located you can put and
track data and you know if you operate something it doesn't work you can create uh work orders from the GIS system. So, we're really trying to move to where we digitize all our plans and make them available. So, if you know,
say we have a contractor meeting where we're on site and the contractor has a question about connections, you know, we can click on those assets, view the digital plans, and and better serve the community by um really having all that
information right at our fingertips. We can uh you know, the IT department set us up with tablets. So we keep a tablet in our truck and we can go out to the field and have that stuff readily available. And where it really is a huge
benefit is in emergency response. So in the old days you would have what's called a gate book and you would keep that gate book in your truck and you'd have to go page by page. Now, if we update our our GIS system properly, you
know, we can drive right out on site, our tablet will recognize our location and it'll show all those assets that we need. So, if we have to isolate a water mane break, all that information is right there at our fingertips, which is amazing.
>> So, do we have some of that information now? And we're getting additional information >> partial. Yes. So over the course of the last decade, we've tried to digitize all of our, you know, paper plans and we've
tried to with the help of it digitize all of our what we would call like tie cards and the IT department has attached all those tie cards to parcels and what we're the new assistant manager is um
has been working on attaching the actual plans. So you can overlay when when you look in an area on the GIS system, you can actually see an overlay of the plans and how things lay in. So it's yeah, it's quite amazing and it's and
it's a it's it's worth the effort. >> That sounds great. And you mentioned um paper plans. How old is the town's water system? >> So we still have some water mane in operation from 1880. Wow.
>> Which is amazing. And a large portion of the water system, a lot of those water manes were put in before 1950. So we have an aging infrastructure. >> How much is a lot of that original infrastructure left or is just a smaller
portion? >> Um, you know, I don't know if I'd be able to put a percentage on it, but the town has made a great effort in doing um water main replacements. The one water mane we have on the docket now is to do East Main Street, which is a large
project. Um, but as far as being able to percentwise, I mean, I think we got a ways to go to continue to to update to where we get into a a good position where where um on a good timeline of
replacing water means, you know, in a in a certain timeline. >> Wow. And is the sewer system younger than the the water? >> Yes, it is. I I think the the bulk of that work started, you know, in and around the 80s. So, it's definitely newer compared to, you know, a hundred
years newer compared to the water system. >> The 1980s. >> Yes. Instead of the >> 1980s. Yes. Exactly. >> Wow. >> And then um you know, any uh current uh goals or projects on the sewer side that are that are ongoing? I mean, well, I guess the water and sewer is all being
located. Yeah, the um the thing we're dealing with now is um INI, you know, infiltration and we're trying to um update our our Hayden Row sewer station. One of the the the projects that we've
worked on to help try and locate the INI is we have purchased what they call smart manhole covers. And what these smart manhole covers do is you can put them out in the field. They go underneath and inside the manhole and it
uses um ultrasonic measuring devices and we can measure the flow inside the manhole. And we're hoping that using these smart manhole covers that we can track where this INI is coming because
what's what's happening is some of our um areas that are hit harder with this INI, it's really taking a toll on the sewer station itself and it has a hard time to keep up. So, we've been really trying to dig in to try to find this infiltration and and that's one of the
ways that we've we've gone about it is these these smart manholes and using technology >> and is that um really is that storm water that's entering the system or >> it would be like yeah rainwater going in. So, um, what we've seen is some of
the roadway surfaces around the manholes, you know, can deteriorate and then the water comes in through the structure itself, like through the bricks, through cracks in the road. So, hopefully we can identify those areas.
Um like we have Hayden Row is is being resurfaced and part of that resurfacing we're trying to re um rebuild the manholes and rebuilding those manholes and using grout and new brick. That should keep
some of that water from entering on the the Hayden row side. And then we'll keep working on um you know we started out with three of the smart manhole covers. We put them on an intersection where
all directions ran back to the the Hayden sewer treatment uh the sewer pump station. So, we're able to kind of track where that water's coming from, but we haven't really had any severe rain events to be able to track it since
we've put them in. So, we're waiting for one of those rain events to happen to be able to kind of see if we can put a finger on where the infiltration's coming from. >> Wow, that's pretty interesting. Didn't know they were doing that. Yes. Great. >> Um, so water and sewer systems are highly regulated. Uh, what agencies
regulate our water and sewer systems and how does it affect our infrastructure? >> So the DP um is our main regulator and with oversight from the US EPA and we work directly with the um the regulators
from the mass D. We strive every day to to meet compliance and you know follow the rules and regulations and you know they're always there to help and just an email away if we we're struggling with you know we need
information or help with things. So we have a really good relationship with them on the on both sides water and sewer. And when um every 3 years we have to do a sanitary survey and we try to operate our stations so that
you know we operate them every day and try to maintain them that we could do a sanitary survey any day of the week and and pass with flying colors. So, >> so before the town can, you know, bring a new well online or find a source and so forth, it has to go through a lengthy
process with the state and also the federal government or just the state. >> Um, I I believe we deal directly with the state on the permitting for if we wanted a new well and um, you know, we had talked earlier about where the sewer
plant goes and you know, they track things like recharging the aquifer. So, we pump out so much water in a year and part of your permit is they want you to recharge. So that that is partially why we have that wastewater treatment plant is to
recharge back into the aquifer >> on on the DP's recommendation. >> Okay. Very interesting. And then uh that permitting process through the state um I imagine that takes a lot of effort and work and some time as well.
>> Yes. um you know, our DPW director, Carrie Reid, she's um works closely with all these things and has foresight to try to um you know, catch issues before they happen and and same same idea, she works closely with the regulators to
make sure we're you know, working within our permits and and all that. And >> what are some of the challenges that our systems face? Um the the two main things um are the growth and capacity.
So the town has grown as we all know in leaps and bounds. And what I would say is the town's initial design we've outgrown what the the intended purpose of the you know the initial systems both
water and sewer. And uh the other issue I would say is is capacity. and we can keep up with the essential use. So this time of year, nobody's running outside water. We're doing right
around say pumping right around a million gallons a day. And we can we can keep up with that. What what we can't keep up with is the non-essential use. And what that part of that non-essential use would be like outside watering, lawn
irrigation. And what we're finding is the demand has almost caught up with our capacity and that puts you kind of in a risky situation where you know you have an emergency and you can't keep up with
it. So um you know water cons conservation is is something you know very important that we should all consider and and remember you know our our water system is is mainly for you know drinking water and firefighting and we have to make sure we have enough
water for that. So all the people could help us with um you know conserving water. >> What are some things that they can do? limit, you know, limit the irrigation um to, you know,
basically you can go on Google and find out, you know, how much water your your lawn needs to to be healthy and you'll see how small of amount it needs. So maybe restricting the amount of days, making sure you're following our water
bands. like so say specifically right now um we're in a a level two water ban and we've been like that for almost 2 years now. So it's important that you you know follow when we do have a water
ban follow those restrictions >> and are there ways that people can you know when they're considering landscaping or other water use in the home things that they can install or plant that use less water? >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean most most um stores
you can get like water saving faucets, you know, you can get them for your shower heads. And a lot of landscapers now like you can tell them when you're laying out, you you can do like water conservation type um beds, you know,
that don't use need as much water. And if someone uh is on the water system and they have uh irrigation uh systems for their lawn, so when there's a water ban and if that irrigation system is connected, they won't be able to use the irrigation system. >> Exactly. >> So that could that could be an issue.
>> Yes, absolutely. >> Okay. Um what are some of the challenges um and opportunities that are presented in your work and in your profession? um the opportunities is that you get to
serve the people and I think that's what drives me. You know, the work that we do affects people in their their everyday lives and um it's really important work and I I kind of fell in love with it early
on in my career and I made the decision that, you know, I wanted to get my license and come into this line of work. So, it's it's um very rewarding in that sense that what you're doing um is providing,
you know, our community with um you know, two very important resources, you know, water and the removal of sewer. >> And I think it's also important that I mean, when you think about it, the the water that you know we're drinking, it comes from right here.
>> Yeah. And so we're we're responsible for it and stewards of that that system. >> And it's very important to um to take care of it the best that we can >> because it works better for us when when we when we we also treat those those
systems well. And you know when you get into situations where you're overpumping wells like the quality diminishes as well. So, you know, we we have to, you know, consider that. >> Uh, is there anything that you'd like to
to tell us about that I haven't asked? >> I I feel that the community is very lucky and in the team that the town has assembled. We have some amazing people with exceptional skills.
And our line of work is, you know, one of the the main duties that we do is, you know, emergency response. And these people that work for the DPW, you know, water, sewer, and highway a lot of times are
really forced to work extra hours and and do things, you know, and and sometimes they put their own family on the back burner to to come in and um do these very important jobs. And and I have to say working
next to these people every day is inspiring cuz the people that I see are so committed to what they do and so dedicated that you know it it makes me really proud like when we go out onto a job and you know everybody's there
together like there's good camaraderie in our team and and we can all depend on each other and it it makes the job nice you know having that that team and that camaraderie. >> And how big is your team? >> So, right now we've grown recently.
Right now, we have have 10 people. >> That's great. >> The one or two. Yes. >> And I echo uh everyone who works there is just so helpful and really committed to to the work that they do. >> Yes, they are. >> Um so, how can people learn more about
uh what you do? How can if someone reach out and contact you if they'd like to talk about the systems? >> Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we've taken we've done tours in the past. You know, we have the new PAS treatment plant. We've taken um Carrie's organized um
tours with college groups. You know, Eric has always in the past, our our former manager, Eric Hardy, he was always great in working with the schools. you know, we're totally open to that and would love to, you know, we're proud of what we do, what we do, and we
would love to tell people about it. So, they could come down to the DPW, email us, and would be happy to show them the DPW and, you know, we're proud of it. >> And there's imagine a lot of information on your website, too. And also, um, water quality reports and so forth are
there as well. Yes, we have the the CCR and all that information is right online available >> for the public >> so people can see the the water quality that they're that they're receiving and make sure it complies with all the regulations as well. >> That's right. >> Great. Well, thank you for joining us
today. Um and uh have a good day. Thank you.