DPW to work with DEP on filling water supervisor post

DPW Superintendent Mike Trotta will be meeting this week with officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to map out a strategy to fill the town’s water-sewer supervisor position, which has been vacant for all but a few months since last spring.

Trotta is serving as the acting water-sewer supervisor until the position is filled. Brian Kiley is the Water-Sewer Division foreman and is responsible for day-to-day operations, including the town’s two water treatment facilities located on Neponset and Pecunit streets.

The town has been searching for a permanent water-sewer supervisor since the departure of Dennis Morton, who resigned in March 2017. The position was briefly filled last fall with the appointment of Marybeth Wiser, former water superintendent for the town of Rowley, but Wiser departed after serving in the role for a few months. The Board of Selectmen then reopened the search and in March 2018 appointed Thomas Dignan Jr., who elected not to accept the offer. The position was subsequently reposted on March 28 and has been open ever since.

Aspinwall said the primary challenge in filling the position has been finding a candidate with the necessary certifications, specifically a Grade 3 Treatment and Grade 3 Distribution Full Operator certificate. Trotta currently holds a 2D certificate.

Additional qualifications for the supervisor’s position, as detailed on the town website, include an associate’s degree; three to five years’ experience in a public works, construction or public utility organization, including two years of supervisory experience, or any equivalent combination of education and experience; Grade 3 Waste Water collections certificate; Class B commercial driver’s license with air brake and tanker endorsements and Class 1C, 2A confined space certification and 4E and 4G hoisting licenses. A CDL Class A license is preferred.

Aspinwall said Trotta will outline to DEP the town’s plans to fill the position either internally or externally, including a new plan where the position is filled through an internal promotion and the applicant completes the coursework and exams needed to obtain both a 3T and 3D certificate.

“We are meeting with DEP to make them aware of our staffing situation,” said Aspinwall. “We have not received any concerns from DEP. We look forward to getting their advice and assistance.”

In late June, through a request from resident Glenn Shane, the Board of Selectmen agreed to spend between $3,000 and $5,000 to have an independent consulting firm review the town’s water quality data. The company, Woodard & Curran, found that with some minor revisions, all required data included in the town report was accurate and there are no water quality or public health and safety concerns at this time.

Shane had expressed concerns to town officials about his tap water having a strong odor of bleach. He also was concerned with what he claimed was “misleading wording” used by the town to describe the state Department of Environmental Protection’s water quality assessment. Instead of using proper wording that the assessment found a “high risk” of contaminants, Shane claimed that Canton changed the wording in 2012-13 and had been reporting it as “safe” in the years since. However, Trotta told selectmen that the wording was edited by the Mass. Water Resources Authority without his approval and at his insistence, the appropriate wording was corrected on the MWRA website as of this year.

In voicing concerns about the quality of his water, Shane has also raised the issue of the water supervisor vacancy and has questioned whether there has been an appropriate level of staffing to properly manage the town’s water system, pointing to current vacancies for both a water treatment plant foreman and a sewer foreman. Shane has also called on the town to prepare its own Consumer Confidence Report for drinking water rather than rely on the reporting of the MWRA, which still supplies a portion of Canton’s water.

Regarding the chlorine smell in Shane’s tap water, Bob Little of Woodard & Curran said it was due to his home’s proximity to the water treatment plant on Pecunit Street and that tests showed the water had safe levels of chlorine. “The odor of chlorine is different for every person,” said Little.

Summarizing their findings, Joseph Shea of Woodard and Curran stated that Canton was not in violation and was well within the appropriate regulations. Trotta said Canton tests the water daily and weekly in several sites around town as well as in residents’ tap water. Selectmen Chairman Mark Porter said the town would be willing to test any resident’s water if they specifically request it.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Aug 17 2018. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.