Charles River Pollution Control District Commission Hears of Interceptor Concerns

Above, the wide brown lines on this CRPCD map show the main "interceptors" leading to the treatment plant. Attention is now being given to the Mine Brook Interceptor (the one of the left).

The Board of the Charles River Pollution Control District (CRPCD), the organization that handles sewer treatment for Franklin and other communities, held their monthly meeting remotely, via Zoom, at 3 pm on Thursday, Jan. 13. Among the issues on the agenda were the Infiltration and Inflow (I&I) Program, and a discussion on an agreement with CDM to review sections of pipe in Mine Brook Interceptor (MBI) subsystem with potential structural issues.

At present CRPCD is looking into working with outside contractors and subcontractors to get a clearer sense of the challenges. The engineering consultants plan to use multiple technologies to assess the state of the interceptor, which connects much of the town to the plant of Village Street in Medway. Those methods, could include video inspection, sonar, and laser data “to determine pipe loss above the water level."  All of that will turn into recommendations which will then be peer reviewed.

The Commission agreed the study should go forward and then possible remediation options can be investigated.

They also heard reports on manhole maintenance programs and, later in the meeting, about an innovative chemical treatment designed to control phosphorous, which is critical to keep out of the effluent stream.