Town of Bennington 1998 Annual Report

Our newly installed inventory and job costing computer programming enabled us to keep better track of available repair parts and bill out for services rendered in a more timely manor. This program also allows us to determine the costs of work we do and will help us to budget with more accuracy than ever before.

In February our personnel were involved with a Wetlands Project on the east end of the Burgess Road Water Department property. The scope of work called for creating open ponds from six old system collection basins called cisterns. Creating open ponds of the six areas allows animals, plant life, and water organisms to grow and move more freely about. This work is being done as remediation for a disturbed wetlands site adjacent to the Houghton Lane Superfund Site. Highway and Wastewater Departments were also heavily involved in this Town project.

A number of training seminars were provided for the Water Staff. Included were First Aid/CPR, Confined Space Entry, Hazardous Materials Awareness, and Work Zone Safety and Traffic Control. Supervisors attended a Project Management Seminar which will help us plan and budget for future projects. An in house Quality Training Program was instituted with some help from New Directions. Eight Town Employees received special instruction to help them provide their co-workers with a series of four training sessions. The sessions included Quality Concepts, Team Building, Meeting Skills, and Problem Solving. These four types of Quality Skills will help us provide better service to all of our customers, internal and external.

In March, Water Crews conducted the annual meter reading of commercial/industrial sites and multi-family residential units for water/sewer billing purposes. As the' number of units with water meters continue to grow this task becomes more labor intensive. It is hoped that in the near future we will be upgrading our reading and billing system to make this annual reading process much more efficient.

A private developer installed a water line extension on Gore Road, north from the intersection of Burgess Road. This 1400 foot section of 8" water main and three new fire hydrants were installed primarily to service a 38 unit trailer park on Gore Road. The new 8" line and hydrants were turned over to the Town of Bennington once all the appropriate testing and inspection was completed.

The Department implemented a color coding system of fire hydrant steamer caps. This was done so that Fire and Water Personnel can identify the flow characteristics of the fire hydrant by simply looking at the color of the cap. This will help fire fighters determine their attack process more quickly which will hopefully save lives and cut down on property damage.

Two Water Department employees attended the Geographic Information System (GIS) training at the Career Development Center sponsored by the Orton Family Foundation. This training, along with the computer and related software located at the Bennington Town Office, is an excellent planning tool for future water projects.

The Town constructed 1,250 feet of 8" water line to replace an old 4" water main on Sharon, Woodland and Birch Drive.

An underwater leak investigation reveled a number of persistent leaks at out 3.0 MG Water Tank on Chapel Road. The tank was drained so that minor repairs could take place, ar,d in a matter of few days, the tank was refilled and back in service.

Approximately 910 feet of 8" ductile iron water main was installed from the intersection of RT 67A and Harman Road, west on Harmon Road to create a water loop to the Morse Road Industrial Park. The loop will help eliminate a persistent water hammer problem in the park, provide for better water quality and provide an alternate loop for water flow north through the industrial park.

A total of 27 lead lines were replaced over the course of the construction season.

Water Department employees worked with the Career Development Center Students to extend a water line at Willow Park approximately 100 feet from the main line to the area where the annual car show concession is located. A frost proof yard hydrant was set so that there would be potable water available.

An extensive fire hydrant flushing was done in the early summer to check hydrants and purge the water system of possible contaminants. It is very important to do a comprehensive flush at least once per year.

Prompted by a major road rehab being planned for a section of Walloomsac Road by our neighbors in Old Bennington, a new 12" ductile iron water main replaced an old 6" cast iron water main on Walloomsac Road.

The annual water leak detection survey was performed in September identifying and repairing a total of 10 leaks eliminating 225,000 GPD of water lost.

Leak Detection:

26 7 2 1 156 224,640

Miles surveyed Main Leaks Service Leaks Hydrant Leaks Total estimated water loss (gallons per minute) Total estimated water loss (gallons per day)

Respectfully submitted,
Terrance A. Morse, Water Resources Superintendent