The incessant rainfall during the first 40 percent of July has forced the postponement of some planned road resurfacing, as well as a bunch of baseball games.
“We had to delay and reschedule a couple of our paving projects,” said Department of Public Works Director David Manugian. That includes the less-disruptive micropaving, which he said “requires a certain amount of dryness to solidify.”
Resumption of paving and overlay work may extend into the fall, Manugian noted, as contractors are backing up throughout the region because of the wet weather. “We have been fortunate that we got a head start this spring” on Wildwood Drive, he noted.
Playing fields have been closed a few times in July, Manugian reported. The weather is wreaking havoc with Babe Ruth Baseball and Softball travel teams.Peter Morello, director of Babe Ruth summer programs, illustrated how challenging the planning has become.
“In baseball the Bay State 11-year-old team is so backed up that they are scheduled to play games Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week,” he related. “They must complete their first-round games by Friday since the trophy weekend begins this Saturday. If a second game is cancelled this week, the games cannot be rescheduled and the boys would lose out on at least one game, maybe more, this round.”
Manugian asked residents to be patient concerning episodes of street flooding. “We have gotten some intense storms, and the drainage system takes a little time to catch up,” he said. “There has been isolated but significant puddling in the roads, but we like to give it a little bit of time to drain.”
DPW crews are being vigilant about clearing catch basins, Manugian said. “When we do get localized flooding, that is what we actively look for.” He added, “Under our stormwater management program, we increased street sweeping – when we do get localized flooding that is one thing we actively look for.”
The town’s 30 sewer pumping stations “are typically located in low spots. We want to watch them and make sure they are working properly,” the director added.
Manugian said this is the kind of weather that facilitates inflow and infiltration through vulnerable points in the sanitary sewer system – inflow from surface water and infiltration by ground water. “Typically, we would see our highest rates in spring and fall,” the director said.
The town, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, is perpetually seeking the weaknesses that allow inflow and infiltration. The MWRA bills the town for the volume, since it’s impossible to separate storm water from conventional sewage.
Manugian noted that the search-and-destroy efforts toward sources of inflow and infiltration seems to be working to a degree, as the most recent MWRA assessment for Bedford was below average when compared to other cities and towns.
The status of the water table, as well as rivers and streams, would be more critical, save for the fact that May and June were relatively dry, he pointed out.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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