Many Talents Contributed to New Medway Water Treatment Facility

The Town of Medway, Massachusetts, selected Wright-Pierce for the design and construction administration of a new water treatment plant to remove naturally occurring iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) from three of its groundwater wells—the Populatic Well, Oakland Well, and Village Street Well. (Image courtesy of Wright-Pierce)

According to the Medway Water & Sewer Department website, "The Town’s public drinking water supply is drawn entirely from the Charles River Basin through four gravel packed groundwater wells. The wells are located in two separate sub-basins within the Charles River Basin (Bogastow Brook sub-basin and Charles Chicken Brook to Top River sub-basin. Historically the town controls iron and manganese levels in the water supply with polyorthophosphate. This approach has been effective for the control of iron and manganese at the Populatic St., Village St., and Industrial Rd. wells. It has not been effective with the Oakland St. well since levels of iron and manganese are regularly in excess of 1.0 mg/l. To ensure sufficient water supply to the community at acceptable treatment levels the town has embarked on the design and construction of a Centralized DPW Water Treatment Plant for the Populatic St., Village St. and Oakland St. wells. After researching potential sites for the DPW WTP the town chose the Populatic St. well site as the only advantageous site for the facility. The DPW WTP will replace existing operations and maintenance buildings beyond their useful life and provide needed treatment for all three water supplies."

Echoing some of the same point, the story continues through a press release, issued by Penetron USA. 

"The town's public drinking water supply is drawn entirely from the Charles River Basin through four gravel packed groundwater wells," explains Richard Farmer, Eastern Region Sales Manager for Penetron USA. "In the past, safe iron and manganese levels in the drinking water were maintained through treatments of polyorthophosphate."

However, this treatment proved less effective with one of the groundwater wells (Charles Street), where unacceptable levels of iron and manganese stubbornly held at >1.0 mg/l. As a result, the town mandated the design and construction of a new centralized drinking water treatment plant at Populatic Street for all four wells to ensure a sufficient drinking water supply with acceptable levels of iron and manganese for the growing community.

During the planning phase, a competitive concrete waterproofing solution was specified for the Populatic Street project. Penetron recommended PENETRON ADMIX SB, a crystalline waterproofing admixture, to Dauphinais Concrete, Bellingham, the ready-mix concrete supplier, for the walls and foundation slab of the treatment and holding tanks to maximize the service life of the new facility.

"PENETRON ADMIX SB is non-toxic and NSF 61-certified for potable water applications," adds Richard Farmer. "Dauphinais Concrete has successfully used the Penetron admixture for several years and appreciates our service and on-site support."

PENETRON ADMIX SB-treated concrete is impermeable, stopping water and chemicals from entering the concrete, even under the constant hydrostatic pressure encountered in a water treatment plant. Its ability to permanently self-heal any future microcracks mitigates deterioration from occurring over the service life of the concrete.

New transmission mains now bring raw water from all of Medway's groundwater wells to the Populatic Street site for treatment. Designed by Wright Pierce, the project architect/engineer, the new 2.12 MGD capacity facility provides iron and manganese treatment, disinfection, and will have the ability to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the future.