Operations & Maintenance

The Charles River Water Treatment Plant is staffed by one treatment manager and two plant operators. All personnel are licensed by the Department of Environmental Protection. The plant is staffed weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. and 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. During unmanned hours of operation, the plant operates in automatic mode.

Pump & Well Operations & Maintenance

Responsibilities include operation and maintenance of three vertical turbine groundwater pumps, motors and valves located at the Charles River Wellfield and two split centrifugal booster pumps, motors and valves at the St. Mary Street booster station. Groundwater wells and observation wells are measured weekly to monitor groundwater conditions.

Chemical Treatment & Quality Assurance

Chemical treatment is calibrated daily and adjusted if necessary to ensure proper treatment is maintained. Quality assurance testing is conducted at the Charles River Water Treatment Plant (CRWTP) laboratory. Source water (pre-treatment) and finished water (post treatment) is monitored via laboratory testing and in-line analyzers. Source water and treated water is analyzed for pH, alkalinity, hardness, manganese, chlorine, fluoride, conductivity, total suspended solids and turbidity. Treatment process reports are submitted monthly to the Department of Environmental Protection for review.

Water samples are collected weekly for analysis from sites in the town that are representative of the water in the surrounding area. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Compliance sampling is conducted by treatment plant staff and analyzed at EPA certified laboratories.

Sourcewater and treated water samples are collected for analysis at EPA certified laboratories. Analysis includes secondary parameters, nitrates, nitrites, perchlorate, radionuclides, lead and copper, volatile organic compounds, synthetic organic compounds and inorganic contaminants. Results of the analysis are reported to the town and the Department of Environmental Protection.

Filtration System

Responsibilities include maintenance of four pressure filters, filter valve system, air scour system and instrumentation. Filters are taken off line monthly for media inspection and for measurements taken to determine media loss. Greensand media is sampled approximately every four months from each of the four vessels and submitted to a certified laboratory for core analysis. Samples are collected daily from each filter for to determine efficiency of manganese removal.

SCADA, PLC and Instrumentation System

Responsibilities include development of real time trending and reporting, calibration of instrumentation using diagnostic instruments and programmable logic controller (PLC) troubleshooting. Emergency conditions are simulated weekly to monitor plant response and staff notification.

Safety & Training

WTP staff are trained in the proper handling of process chemicals. All treatment chemicals are analyzed at the treatment plant laboratory prior to unloading from delivery tankers for quality assurance.

Water Treatment Facility Information

View more information on the Water Treatment Plant.