State LiBrarv of M e^ ^ u setts C i - '• ,-s ;• ' - "l COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS South Essex Sewerage District Salem, Mass. FORTY-FOURTH REPORT COVERING THE YEAR 1969 3 go and Goodwin Printing Company Peabody, Massachusetts COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS South Essex Sewerage District Salem, Mass. FORTY-FOURTH REPORT COVERING THE YEAR 1969 THE SOUTH ESSEX SEWERAGE BOARD HOWARD S. WILLARD, Chairman TRACY I. FLAGG HERVF.Y, i LeBOEUF, JR. Representative Commissioner J>f P-ublic Work Town of Danvers, Mass. Peabody, Mass ROM EO E BEAULIEU NEAL B. MITCHELL ommissioner of Public Works City E.iginecr Beverly, Mass. Salern, Mass. AUG 1 01972 STAiL Huuot, bUoiON OfWUiNi- C L , / Salem, Massachusetts December 31, 1969 To the Governor of the Commonwealth the County Commissioners of Essex County the Mayor of Beverly the Mayor of Peabody the Mayor of Salem and the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Danvers. Gentlemen: The South Essex Sewerage Board, created by and organized under Chapter 339 of the Acts of 1925, herewith submits its forty-fourth annual report, covering the year 1969. The Sewerage Board met at twenty meetings during the year. The organization of the Board was altered during the year as follows: Mr. Joseph C. Tomasello, Chairman of the Board, passed away on July 31, 1969. Mr. Howard S. Willard was appointed as Chairman of the Board on October 8, 1969. Mr. Neal B. Mitchell retired from the Board on December 31, 1969. Mr. Joseph Tomasello was Chairman of the Board from August 1946 through December 1956 and again from September 1958 until his untimely death in July 1969. His term as chairman encompassed periods of growth and improvements to the Districts system of sewerage; notable among those were the construction of the Peabody Grease and Grit Chamber which was completed in 1947, the construction of the new Salem-Peabody Pumping Station which was completed in 1956, an engineering study of the needed improvements of the Salem-Peabody Trunk Sewer which was compiled in 1960, and a further engineering study that included the needs for the entire District and treatment plant facilities which was completed in 1968. In recognition of his faithful service and in a humble attempt to convey their heart­ felt sorrow over the loss of their personal friend, the Board adopted the following resolution: 3 JOSEPH C. TOMASELLO \\ HEREAS the CREATOR in his wisdom has seen fit to call Joseph C. Tomasello to his just reward; and WHEREAS Mr. Tomasello contributed freely of his time and energy to the betterment of our Commonwealth, Essex County and to our District; and WHEREAS Mr. Tomasello in a special sense devoted his interests to our District for many years as Chairman of The South Essex Sewerage Board; and WHEREAS The South Essex Sewerage District, comprising the Cities of Peabody, Salem, Beverly and the Town of Danvers, his associates on the Board, the personnel and employees of the District have suffered a grevious loss by his death; and \\ HEREAS he has enriched us all by his leadership, guidance, technical abilities and his talents as an Administrator; therefore be it RESOLVED that The South Essex Sewerage Board express its profound sorrow, and sense of loss by the death of Mr. romasello: Therefore be it further RESOLY ED that these Resolutions be spread upon the records of The South Essex Sewerage Board and that a copy thereof be sent to his beloved wife as a sincere token of appreci­ ation of Mr. Tomasello’s services to the Communities which make up our District. So VOTED by The South Essex Sewerage Board this seventh day of August, nineteen hundred and sixty-nine. JOSEPH B. O'KEEFE Clerk Miss Mary Houlihan, faithful secretary for the District office letired in October after fulfilling nearly 35 years of continuous service. There was one statutory change that affected the District passed during the year. Chapter 516 of the Acts of 1969 was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Francis Sargent on July 16, 1969. This Act provided for the construction on new 4 and enlarged intercepting sewers, sewage treatment iacilitiis. pumping stations and other works for the South Essex Sewei age District. CONSTRUCTION There was no actual construction work done during the year. SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS AND TREATMENT PLANT STUDY In March, the consulting engineering firm of Metcalf and Eddy, Inc. presented their report of the improvements in the District sewer system designed to handle the anticipated flows for the next fifty years. Included in the report was an outline of needed treatment plant facilities and the estimate of costs and projected time schedules of construction. This report is a matter of record in the District’s office and was distributed to all members of the District. The engineering report recommended that the sewage treat­ ment plant be built in the Collins Cove area of Salem. This proposal was vigorously opposed by the residents of that area. The proposed alternative to this location was to utilize the existing Districts property at the Cat Cove area. The major problem involved with the building at the Cat Cove site was the lack of sufficient land area. Many meetings were held during the year in an effort to work out this problem and by the end of the year agreements had been reached that would allow the District to acquire additional land. The District elected to accelerate the design of the Salem- Peabody Intercepting Sewer and in July contracts for land sur­ veys and subsurface investigations were authorized. MAINTENANCE SEWERS Danvers and Beverly Trunk Sewer The connection branches of this sewer that serves the various States and County Institutions in Danvers and Middleton, which 5 are maintained by the respective institutions, have been maintained in proper condition. In February, a plug-up occurred on the Danvers trunk line in the vicinity of the Danvers Shopping Plaza entrance drive. Vain attempts were made to remove the obstruction by use of mechanical rodding equipment. The sewer line was excavated and an accumulation of tree roots were removed and the pipeline was repaired. The yearly tour of inspection over the entire length of this trunkline found nothing that would impede the flow of sewage. Peabody and Salem Trunk Sewer During the year studies were made of the flow rate capacity of this sewer line to determine how the flow rates could be improved. The Salem trunk sewer reaches its capacity during periods of heavy rains in combination with peak daily flows, which causes the sewers to overflow into the North River. This condition is to be eliminated by the construction of a new and enlarged trunk sewer of which the design has been started. Many methods of accomplishing an interim relief to the surcharged sewers were brought forth. Of the methods that were proposed it was decided that a thorough cleaning of the pipeline was the most practical. A contract to clean, scrape, and remove all deposits from the fifty four inch diameter sewer running from the Peabody Grease and Grit Chamber to the Goodhue Street Siphon was awarded in July and the work was completed in September. The cleaning of the sewer line accomplished an increase in the capacity of the line of two million gallons per day. Regular sewer cleaning operations were carried out over the entire length of the Salem and Peabody trunk line during the year. A mechanical drag was pulled through the pipe line from Central Street, Peabody to the Salem Grease and Grit Plant at Salem Willows. Large quantities of grease and heavy solids were removed at both grease and grit chambers following the dragging operations. The Salem Grease and Grit Chamber as well as the Peabody Grease and Grit Chamber functioned well during the year. The Peabody Chamber required almost continual cleaning during the 6 year and the Salem chamber was cleaned out three times. Grease and Grit were removed from the chambers as follows: Peabody Grease and Grit Chamber: 1900 tons of grease and 3450 cubic yards of grit. Salem Grease and Grit Chamber: 457 tons of grease and 352 cubic yards of grit. Total for the District: 2357 tons of grease and 3802 cubic yards of grit. The annual cleaning and inspection of the Peabody Grease and Grit Chamber was done in December. The chamber was dewatered and all the inlet and outlet pipes, the venturi tube, and the influent and effluent chambers were scraped clean. FORCE MAINS AND SIPHONS The Beverly force main from the Beverly pumping station to Salem Willows functioned well during the year. The Salem Willows force main, running from the Salem pumping station to the intersection with the 54 inch outfall sewer, developed a leak during the month of June. The leak occurred near the intersection of Columbus Ave. and Bayview Ave. and it was repaired by excavating the pipe and caulking the leaking joint with lead wool. All gates on the force mains were inspected and lubricated and are in good working order. The Danvers River siphon and the Bass River siphon functioned well during the year. The Goodhue Street siphon in Salem was cleaned in September during the course of cleaning the trunk line sewer. DEEP SEA OUTFALL The Districts outfall sewer, running from Beach Ave., Salem to a point off Great Haste Island, functioned well during the year with no cleaning necessary. 7 PUMPING STATIONS Danvers Pumping Station This station operated well during the year and was able to handle the peak flows with the exception of 3 times when heavy rains made it necessary to by-pass some of the flow to the Danvers River.