The $7 million project to connect town water to the Devens water supply began a few weeks ago when silt fences and straw wattles were installed along sections of Depot Road. The fences are designed to protect the wetlands that are prevalent on both sides of the road during installation of a water main that will run the full length of Depot Road.
Fencing is in place at the corner of Depot and Under Pin Hill roads to protect wetlands nearby.(Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
The new water main will connect to a pump station that will be constructed at the end of the road, just beyond the railroad tracks. The Conservation Commission required the town to install silt fences at specific locations. The fences and wattles will keep backfill soil and gravel that might wash down the road during construction out of the wetlands.
Department of Public Works Director Tim Kilhart told the Press that Conservation Agent Liz Allard inspected the fences earlier this week and gave them a stamp of approval. He said that has paved the way for trench-digging to begin, and that will likely happen in the next couple of weeks as soon as the contractor can mobilize crews.
Kilhart said where the pipes will be placed under the road will vary based on what obstacles might exist. He said police details will try to keep the road open as much as possible, but it might need to be closed for brief periods in some spots. Advance notice of closures will be posted on the town website, he added.
There is no start date yet for construction of the pump station. Kilhart said all the necessary easements for the project have been granted and all outstanding issues have been resolved.
When the project is finished, projected to be sometime next year, town water customers, including the schools and municipal buildings, will begin getting their water from Devens, where it is treated for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Harvard’s two town wells both contain PFAS levels that barely meet (and have in the past exceeded) the new PFAS standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
