Hopkinton Onsite Wastewater Management Plan Town of Hopkinton
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Hopkinton Onsite Wastewater Management Plan Town of Hopkinton Hopkinton, RI April 2010 317 Iron Horse Way Suite 204 Providence, RI 02908 20080554.A10 Table of Contents Onsite Waste Water Management Plan Town of Hopkinton, RI 1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The Case for Onsite System Management..................................................1 1.2 Plan Overview..............................................................................................3 2 The Basics of Onsite Waste Water Treatment and Disposal.................... 3 2.1 Typical Components in an Onsite Wastewater Treatment System............4 2.2 Onsite System Treatment Performance ......................................................4 2.3 Failing and Substandard Systems ...............................................................5 2.3.1 Cesspools and Other Substandard Systems..................................................5 2.3.2 Failing Systems..................................................................................................5 2.4 Patterns of Development and Implications for the Environment ..............6 3 Existing Conditions ..................................................................................... 7 3.1 Land Use/Zoning and Demographics........................................................7 3.2 Topography .................................................................................................8 3.3 Surficial and Bedrock Geology....................................................................8 3.4 Soils..............................................................................................................9 3.5 Surface Water and Water Quality .............................................................. 10 3.6 Groundwater and Drinking Water Supplies.............................................. 11 3.7 Current Wastewater Infrastructure............................................................ 11 4 State Policy................................................................................................. 14 4.1 RIDEM Regulations ................................................................................. 14 4.1.1 Licensing Requirements for OWTS Design and Construction ...............15 4.1.2 Upgrading Dwellings with OWTSs..............................................................15 4.2 Rhode Island Cesspool Phaseout Act of 2007 ........................................... 16 5 OWTS Wastewater Management Approaches......................................... 17 5.1 System Inventory/Tracking and Public Education and Outreach .......... 17 5.2 Special Design Standards .......................................................................... 18 5.3 Wastewater Management Districts ........................................................... 18 5.3.1 Community Required Maintenance Inspections........................................18 5.3.1.1 Setting an Inspection Schedule..........................................................19 5.3.2 Community Operated Maintenance Program ............................................19 5.3.3 Community Owned OWTS’s........................................................................20 5.4 Financial Assistance ..................................................................................20 5.4.1 Financial Assistance for Repair and Replacement .....................................20 5.4.2 Financial Assistance for Inspection and Maintenance ..............................22 5.5 Management Approaches Used by Other Rhode Island Municipalities..22 5.5.1 Charlestown.....................................................................................................24 5.5.2 Narragansett.....................................................................................................25 5.5.3 South Kingstown ............................................................................................25 F:\P2008\0554\A10\Final Plan and Response to Comments\Hopkinton\abs.mjr_HopkintonOWMP_20090601.doc i Table of Contents Onsite Waste Water Management Plan Town of Hopkinton, RI 5.5.4 Jamestown........................................................................................................26 6 Recommendations and Next Steps .......................................................... 27 6.1 Education and Outreach ...........................................................................27 6.2 CSSLP ........................................................................................................27 6.2.1 General Eligibility ...........................................................................................27 6.2.2 Additional Eligibility Issues and Features ...................................................28 6.2.3 Expected Activity of the Hopkinton Loan Program.................................29 6.2.4 Application Procedure ...................................................................................30 6.3 Methods of Advertising ............................................................................. 31 7 Program Responsibilities and Administration ........................................ 31 8 Method of Septage Disposal ..................................................................... 31 9 Implementation Plan .................................................................................. 33 9.1 Anticipated Project Costs ..........................................................................33 9.2 Implementation Schedule .........................................................................34 Tables Following Page 1 Characteristics of Typical OWTS Applications 6 2 Soil Survey of Rhode Island Topographical Description 8 3 Soil Development Classifications for Hopkinton 9 4 Summary of OWTS System Permit Data (1992-2003) 12 5 RIDEM OWTS Regulations Minimum Setbacks for Disposal Trenches, Beds, or Chambers 14 6 Summary of Rhode Island Municipal Onsite Wastewater Standards and Programs 23 7 Estimated Cost of Repair per OWTS Failure 29 8 Cost of Expected Repair Activity Per Year for the Duration of the CSSLP Loan 30 9 Program Development Cost 33 10 Onsite Wastewater Management Program Development Schedule 34 F:\P2008\0554\A10\Final Plan and Response to Comments\Hopkinton\abs.mjr_HopkintonOWMP_20090601.doc ii Table of Contents Onsite Waste Water Management Plan Town of Hopkinton, RI Figures End of Report 1 Town of Hopkinton Onsite Wastewater Management Area 2 Town of Hopkinton Soil Characterization 3 Town of Hopkinton Environmental Constraints and Sensitive Areas 4 Known OWTS Repairs and Enforcement Issues From 1992-April 2009 5 Known OWTS Repairs and Enforcement Issues in Sensitive Areas and Areas with Environmental Constraints Appendices End of Report A Agenda and Town Council Resolution B Cesspool Phaseout Act of 2007 C Septic System Checkup: The Rhode Island Handbook for Inspection (Riordan, 2000) D CSSLP Regulations E Rhode Island Municipal Septic System Standards and Programs (Riordan, 2001) and Summary of Rhode Island Municipal Onsite Wastewater Programs (RIDEM, 2008). F Cost Estimate to Replace Leachfield and Septic Tank F:\P2008\0554\A10\Final Plan and Response to Comments\Hopkinton\abs.mjr_HopkintonOWMP_20090601.doc iii 1 Introduction The Town of Hopkinton, Rhode Island (the Town) has gathered information about both current and future environmental and public health issues related to onsite wastewater treatment and disposal. The Town is located in the south central region of Rhode Island in the Wood and Pawcatuck River watersheds in Washington County. The Town includes a mix of agricultural fields and woods with scattered residences. Small villages, limited commercial development, and light industrial land uses are also scattered throughout the area. The Town values the health of its community and environment, and has therefore, started to assess the effect of current wastewater treatment and disposal practices and the options available for improving the performance of these methods. This Onsite Wastewater Management Plan (OWMP) provides information about how onsite systems work, how to improve system performance in sensitive environments, why maintenance of the systems is important, and what options a community or group of communities has for managing onsite systems. The entire Town of Hopkinton is considered the management area for this OWMP, as shown on Figure 1. Current environmental conditions and onsite wastewater treatment practices are also summarized. Fuss & O’Neill, Inc prepared this plan building on the previous draft Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond OWMP (Stone Environmental, 2003) and with input from the Community Development Consortium. The Town Council resolution provided in Appendix A demonstrates the Town of Hopkinton has motioned to participate in development and submittal of this plan. 1.1 The Case for Onsite System Management In their 1997 Response to Congress, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) concluded that “adequately managed decentralized wastewater systems are a cost- effective and long-term option for meeting public health and water quality goals, particularly in less densely populated areas.” To support onsite system management programs at the local and state levels, the US EPA recently released guidelines that are structured to reflect an increasing need for more comprehensive management as the sensitivity of the environment or the degree of technological complexity increases (US EPA, 2003).