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$22 Million Expansion, LEED Renovation Begins at Wall Experiment Station
State, City Officials Break Ground on State-of-the-Art, 'Green' Building Project in Lawrence
Over the next two years, MassDEP's Senator William X. Wall Experiment Station will evolve from a small, 53-year-old laboratory facility into an expanded, renovated "green building," which will contain state-of-the-art analytical equipment and feature Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) amenities.
MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles announced the lab's $22 million expansion and renovation project during groundbreaking ceremonies at the Lawrence facility in November. They were joined by U.S. EPA New England Administrator Robert Varney, state Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) Commissioner David Perini, Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust Executive Director Scott Jordan, Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan, and state Representatives Barry Finegold, David Torrisi and William Lantigua.
LEED Upgrades Help Lab 'Go Green'
The LEED upgrades will include the use of photo-voltaic cells as a solar energy source, a super-efficient HVAC system to save up to 40 percent on heating and cooling costs, rain gardens for better management of stormwater, rainwater recycling for non-potable uses and irrigation, large windows that will allow the sun to provide light and heat, installation of a "green roof" on a portion of the building, and a set-aside for plug-in hybrid vehicle parking spaces.
"The Wall Experiment Station has a long history of excellence and innovation as an environmental laboratory, and in its new incarnation it will be a model building," Secretary Bowles said at the ceremony. "I applaud MassDEP for taking up Governor Patrick's call to lead by example with this state-of-the-art facility, which will demonstrate what can be done with energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water management."
The Wall Experiment Station is Massachusetts' principal drinking water laboratory, and the facility annually performs 10,000 lab analyses of contaminants in water, wastewater, air, soil, hazardous wastes, fish, and other samples. The facility also certifies more than 150 commercial and municipal labs for compliance analysis of both potable and non-potable water.
"Protection of public health and the environment has been the top priority of the Wall Experiment Station over its long and storied history," Commissioner Burt said during the ceremony. "This project will not only continue the long legacy of important environmental work, but will make this lab state-of-the-art. It will stand as a working symbol of the importance of environmental protection in the Commonwealth."
Expansion to Add 13,000 Square Feet of Lab Space
The project will expand the historic 22,000-square-foot facility, located at 37 Shattuck Street, by an additional 13,000 square feet. MassDEP, DCAM, and the architectural design team of Perkins+Will planned the project. O'Connor Constructors is the project's construction manager.
The first phase of the project involves a $16 million facility expansion, utilizing funds approved by the Massachusetts Legislature. Funding is also being provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the State Drinking Water Revolving Fund. The second phase - to be funded through the Environmental Bond Bill - will involve a $6 million renovation of the existing lab.
In 1993, following his sudden death, the laboratory was named in honor of former Senator William X. Wall, who represented Lawrence in the Legislature for 40 years. He had filed the bill that resulted in the current Station being built and occupied in 1954. Sen. Wall's three daughters - Mary, Barbara and Margaret - attended the groundbreaking ceremony.
The Lawrence Experiment Station was founded in 1887 as one of the first laboratories in the world dedicated to environmental research. In the 1890s, typhoid fever epidemics plagued the cities of Lawrence and Lowell, which used the Merrimack River as their water supply. Lab officials found the cause of the epidemics to be sewage-polluted river water. In 1893, Lawrence began filtration of river water using slow sand filters designed at the Lawrence lab. Thus, Lawrence became the first city in the country to filter its water as a disease-prevention measure, rather than to just improve aesthetic quality.
Over the years, thousands of U.S. and foreign sanitary scientists and engineers have visited the Lawrence Experiment Station to receive training on the latest techniques pioneered in Lawrence. They have taken that knowledge and spread it around the world, helping many thousands live healthier lives.
The work conducted in Lawrence laid the foundation for modern methods of wastewater treatment and drinking water purification used throughout the world. In recognition of its important place in the history of sanitary science and engineering, the American Society of Civil Engineers designated the Lawrence Experiment Station as a "National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark" in 1975.
For more information on the Wall Experiment Station project, visit MassDEP's web site at: www.mass.gov/dep/about/organization/wespost.htm#future
From left: MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt, Barbara Wall, Margaret Wall, Mary Wall and Dr. Oscar Pancorbo
From left: Dr. Oscar Pancorbo, EPA Region 1 Administrator Bob Varney, Scott Jordan of the Treasurer's office, Rep. David M. Torrisi, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt, Rep. William Lantigua, , Rep. Barry R. Finegold, Mayor Michael J. Sullivan, DCAM Commissioner David Perini
From left: Scott Jordan of the Treasurer's office Dr. Oscar Pancorbo, EPA Region 1 Administrator Bob Varney, Rep. David M. Torrisi, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles, MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt, Rep. William Lantigua, Mayor Michael J. Sullivan , Rep. Barry R. Finegold, DCAM Commissioner David Perini
Commissioner Laurie Burt addresses the gathering at the Wall Experiment Station Groundbreaking Event on November 16, 2007.
Wall Experiment Station Northwest view artists' rendering
Wall Experiment Station Souttheast view artists' rendering
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