Belchertown: Enhancing Water Supply Reliability: Resilient Water Storage and Water Conservation – Design & Implementation

FY21 MVP Action Grant led by the Town of Belchertown: In a continuation of a previous MVP Action Grant, the Town of Belchertown and the Belchertown Water District replaced the Park Street water storage tank with a new tank that would increase storage capacity and resiliency to drought. The tank replacement project included improvements to the municipal parking lot adjacent to the tank, which incorporated green stormwater practices that will enhance water quality and provide significant opportunities for public education and outreach at this highly visible site in the Town center.

Project Details

Project Title

Enhancing Water Supply Reliability: Resilient Water Storage and Water

Municipality

Belchertown

MVP Region

Greater Connecticut River Valley

Award Year

FY2021

Grant Award

$699,706.25

Project Length

Two Years

Community Overview

• Belchertown is a part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Area with a population of approximately 14,650.
• Belchertown lies along the western banks of the western branch of the Quabbin Reservoir, with the lands around that water being part of the Quabbin Reservation. The town is hilly north of the town center, the hills forming part of the former Swift River Valley, with most of the rest of the town being relatively slowly sloping plains, spotted with plenty of meadow lands.

Project Description and Goals

• Where was the project located?
  • Park Street Water Tower
• What climate change impacts did the project address? 
  • Drought
• What were the specific goals and tasks of the project? 
  • The project goal was to replace the existing Park Street water storage tank. The existing 100,000-gallon multicolumn water storage tank was 100 plus years old, undersized, structurally deficient and could not withstand a design wind speed of 95 mph and 1-inch of ice loading. The replacement tank is a larger 250,000- gallon water storage tank designed and permitted to enhance resilience and water system reliability.
  • The parking lot and site was refurbished to include green infrastructure (pervious pavers and rain garden).

Results and Deliverables

• Provide a brief summary of project deliverables with web links, if available.
  •  Project deliverables included:
    • The completed construction of the Park Street Water Storage Tank Replacement Project provides enhanced resiliency and water system reliability to the Belchertown Water District. In addition, site improvements and the installation of green infrastructure including pervious pavers and a rain garden were completed.
    • A copy of the record drawings and project manual have been submitted as part of the MVP Progress Reporting for this grant. The record drawings and project manual have also been provided to the Town.

Lessons Learned

• What lessons were learned as a result of the project?
  • The Park Street site was very confined, with a cemetery to the Northeast and the “Old Town Hall” and Church to the Northwest and West. The limited space of the site left little room for construction when the existing tank was in place. The Town of Belchertown had a second tank that was able to support the system during the construction process and the unexpected lengthening of construction time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed the existing tank to be eliminated from the site and enhanced the space available for construction.

Partners and Other Support

The following partners were involved throughout the construction and completion of the project

• Kevin Williams - Superintendent of Belchertown Water District
• Gary Brougham – Town Administrator • JL Construction Corporation – General Contractor
• Pittsburg Tank and Tower Group – Water Tank Contractor
• Fuss & O’Neill – Engineering Consultant Team
  • Kevin M. Flood, PE, Project Manager
  • Doug Brisee, PE, Engineering Design
  • Walter Dylag, EIT, Engineering Design
  • Erik Mas, PE, Green Infrastructure Engineering Design