For years, residents and businesses in Montpelier have dealt with a slew of problems related to the city’s aging drinking water system. In the last 10 years, Vermont’s capital has experienced an average of about one water main break every two weeks, causing boil water notices, school closures, water stoppages and torn-up streets.
That’s why, in Montpelier’s most recent state-issued permit, state officials required the city to commission a report outlining the city’s options for fixing the problems.
Released this month, the report, authored by the Dufresne Group, largely recommends that Montpelier officials continue on with business as usual, by steadily replacing pipes. But the report is preliminary, and still subject to scrutiny by the state.
Some tension has existed between state and city officials because each entity endorses a different approach for improving the water system.
City officials have pointed to the area’s acidic clay soils, which are corroding the pipes and shortening their expected lifespan, sometimes by half.
While state officials with the Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Division agree that acidic soils contribute to the city’s frequent water main breaks, they have also pointed to an underlying high water pressure problem that has not only worn away at the pipes, but has also caused problems in private homes, apartment buildings and businesses.
Reducing pressure in the city’s main zone would require “significant capital investment” in new infrastructure, land acquisitions and new management of high elevation connections, including booster stations, disconnections or drilled wells, among other measures, the report states.
Areas of high water pressure generally overlap with areas where pipes tend to be failing “due to corrosive soils,” it says.
The city would still need nearly $62 million in investments for new water mains, even with reduced pressure, the report states. It estimates that addressing system-wide high water pressure would cost an additional $19 million.
“The City should continue to evaluate rates and capital improvement reserves to plan significant water system replacement projects over the next 20-years,” the report concludes.
Dana Nagy, who supervises the state’s drinking water community operations section, signed the city’s permit to operate and has nudged the city to address water pressure.
Asked about next steps, he said the department is reviewing the report, and state officials will meet with city officials in the coming weeks.
“If we find that there are things that were required that were not included in the (preliminary engineering report), then we would go back and ask them to reevaluate and provide additional information,” Nagy said.
When the report is final, the state will incorporate the recommendations into the permit to operate and hold the city to a schedule for implementing the plan.
Kurt Motyka, director of Montpelier’s Department of Public Works, said the report is “consistent with our water master plan,” but that it provides more details about which water mains the city should replace quickly.
Many residents have urged the city to change or expedite its master plan to avoid the ongoing problems that residents, business owners and public institutions have long been experiencing.
In one instance, a water main break caused a wave of pressure to blow through a pressure reducing valve on an apartment building. When that happened, the city’s normal water pressure coursed through the building’s old pipes, and they collapsed. The landlord, who happened to be a plumber, measured the water pressure at 200 pounds per square inch (psi).
While the state recommends that water pressure stay in the range of 35 psi at the lowest and between 60 to 90 psi at the highest, water pressure in Montpelier’s downtown area often clocks in at more than 150 psi.
According to the report, “approximately 51% of the distribution network has service pressures more than 150 psi, with the highest services pressures estimated at 200 psi.”
High pressures exist in Montpelier because the water source, Berlin Pond, is located several hundred feet above the city. The system serves a population of nearly 9,000, and it’s shaped like a bathtub — water maintains high pressures as it descends from Berlin Pond, travels through downtown, then ascends hills on the city’s far side.
Many other cities have installed booster stations to manage water pressure through elevation changes, but Montpelier officials have maintained that adding additional booster stations would be too expensive, and the report echoes that conclusion.
Motyka said the city is considering recommending that private property owners replace their pressure reducing valves more regularly, and ensure that the valves are up to date and functioning properly.