USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Town annual report of Weymouth 1922 > Part 2
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Article 68. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Tufts Library.
Article 69. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the maintenance of a reading-room in the Fogg Library.
Street Lighting
Article 70. To see if the Town will authorize the Electric Light Committee to contract with the Weymouth Light & Power Co., for furnishing lights for the Town, or act in any manner re- lating thereto.
Article 71. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the lighting of streets.
Article 72. On petition : To see if the Town will consider light- ing Forest Street from Columbian Street to Randolph Street.
Article 73. On petition : To see if the Town will request the Electric Light Committee to place a light on a pole at the corner of Green and North Streets near Weymouth Heights station.
Town Survey
Article 74. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the maintenance of the Town survey system, or take any action in relation thereto.
Taxes and Interest
Article 75. To determine in what manner taxes shall be col- lected the current year, and to fix the rate of interest on all taxes remaining unpaid after the time fixed for payment.
Article 76. To see what sum of money the Town will vote. to raise and appropriate for the abatement and the remittance of taxes.
Article 77. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the payment of interest which may be- come due during the current year.
Printing and Advertising
Article 78. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for printing and advertising.
Article 79. To see if the Town will instruct its Board of As-
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sessors to publish the valuations of all property subject to taxation in the town of Weymouth, as a part of the Town Report for the year 1922.
Shade Trees and Suppression of Moths
Article 80. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the preservation of shade trees, the same to be expended under the direction of the Tree Warden.
Article 81. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the suppression of gypsy and browntail moths, or take any other action in relation thereto.
Miscellaneous Articles
Article 82. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Memorial Day.
Article 83. To determine in what manner the alewive fishery shall be conducted the present year, and to see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the said fishery.
Article 84. To see if the Town will authorize its Selectmen to commence suit for the recovery of any money or property due it, or to prosecute a bill in equity or any other proceedings in court when in their judgment it is expedient in the interests of the Town to do so.
Article 85. To see if the Town will authorize its Selectmen to sell any real estate of which it may be possessed and for which it has no further use.
Article 86. By request of the Tercentenary Committee: To see if the Town will accept the report of the Selectmen for the laying out as a townway the private way known as Lovell Court and Lov- ell Court extension to Great Hill, in accordance with the plans al- ready laid out by Russell H. Whiting, C. E.
Article 87. To see if the Town will vote to raise and appropri- ate, or appropriate, any sum of money for the working of the pro- ject as described in the previous Article No. 86, or take action in any manner relating thereto.
Article 88. To see what sum of money the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the miscellaneous expenses.
You are further required to notify and warn said inhabitants of Weymouth qualified to vote in elections, to meet at the polling places in their respective precincts, to wit: in Precincts 1, 3, 5, and 6, in the halls of the Fire Engine Houses located in those pre- cincts respectively ; in Precinct 2, at the Odd Fellows Opera House; in Precinct 4, at the building formerly known as the Hose House and now located on Front Street near Nash's Corner, on Monday, the 13th day of March, 1922, at five o'clock and forty-five minutes
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in the forenoon, then and there to bring in to the wardens of their several precincts, their votes on one ballot, for the following named officers, to wit:
Town Clerk; Town Treasurer; five (5) Selectmen; five (5) Overseers of the Poor; two (2) Assessors for three years; Col- lector of Taxes; Three (3) Auditors; Two (2) School Committee for three years; one (1) Water Commissioner for three years; one (1) member of the Board of Health for three years; one (1) Park Commissioner for three years; three (3) Trustees of Tufts Library for three years; one (1) Commissioner of the Sinking Fund of the James Humphrey School House for three years; one (1) Tree Warden; ten (10) Constables; one (1) Moderator for one year; and for election in Precinct 1, of nine (9) Town meeting members for three years, and one (1) Town Meeting member for one year to fill vacancy; in Precinct 2, eight (8) Town Meeting members for three years, and one (1) Town Meeting member for two years to fill vacancy; in Precinct 3, Ten (10) Town Meeting members for three years, and two (2) Town Meeting members for two years to fill vacancies; in Precinct 4, (6) Town Meeting members for three years, and one (1) Town Meeting member for one year to fill vacancy; in Precinct 5, ten (10) Town Meeting members for three years; in Precinct 6, eight (8) Town Meeting members for three years, and to vote on the same ballot "Yes" or "No" upon the fol- lowing question :
"Shall licenses be granted for the sale of certain non-intoxi- cating beverages in said Town?"
The polls will be closed at four o'clock in the afternoon.
You are directed to serve this warrant by posting a copy there- of, attested by you in writing, in each of two public places in each voting precinct in said Town, seven days at least before the time for holding the first meeting called for in this warrant.
Hereof, fail not, make due return of this Warrant with your doings thereon to the Town Clerk of said Town, on or before the third day of March, 1922.
Given under our hands at Weymouth this twenty-third day of January in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and twenty-two.
WILLIAM H. COWING, ALFRED W. HASTINGS, FREDERICK HUMPHREY, WILLIAM B. DASHA, THERON L. TIRRELL. Selectmen of Weymouth
A true copy. Attest :
ARTHUR H. PRATT, Constable of Weymouth
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
Norfolk s s.
Weymouth, February 23, 1922
Pursuant to the within warrant I have this day notified and
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warned the inhabitants of Weymouth aforesaid to meet at the respective places and times for the purpose set forth in said warrant by posting true and attested copies of the same in said town as therein directed.
A true copy, attest :
ARTHUR H. PRATT Constable of Weymouth
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Pursuant to the foregoing warrant the annual meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Weymouth was held at the Odd Fellows Opera House, East Weymouth, on Monday, March 6, 1922. The meeting was called to order at 7.45 o'clock p. m. by Hon. George L. Barnes, Annual Moderator, who directed the reading of the warrant by the Town Clerk, after reading the call for the meeting, it was voted that the reading of the several articles of the warrant be omitted, the Town Clerk then read the return of the Constable who served the warrant.
ARTICLE 1. Voted: That a committee of one from each Ward be appointed to prepare a list and bring in to the meeting a list of minor officers other than those elected by ballot, viz: Public Weighers, Surveyors of wood, lumber and bark, two or more Field Drivers, two or more Fence Viewers, one Pound Keeper, Electric Light Committee and a planning Board.
The Moderator appointed on the above committee, Patrick J. Derrig, Benjamin N. Ells, John B. Whalen, Bowdoin B. Smith and Frank E. Loud.
ARTICLE 2. Mr. Prince H. Tirrell for the committee appointed March 22, 1920 under Article 30 of the warrant reported as follows :
To the Citizens of Weymouth :
At the adjourned meeting of the inhabitants of Weymouth held on March 22, 1920 under Article 30 of the warrant namely: To see if the town will vote to appoint a committee to ascertain the cost of connection to the Metropolitan Water System, or act in any other way in relation thereto, the following vote was passed :
"That a committee of five be appointed one of whom shall be Mr. Fred O. Stevens to ascertain the cost of connection to the Metropolitan Water System."
On behalf of the undersigned, the committee appointed in accordance with above vote, Mr. Stevens has made an exhaustive study of the possibilities and future needs of our water system and in particular has obtained from the Metropolitan District Commis- sioners an estimate of the cost which the Town of Weymouth would have to pay in order to be joined to the Metropolitan System.
All the information necessary for a complete report was not available at the last annual town meeting and it was then voted that your committee be given further time for consideration of the matter.
By Mr. Stevens report to your committee, appended hereto, it appears that the expense at the persent time for Weymouth to enter this system alone would be about $500,000. or, entering with Braintree about $370,000.
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From all the data in the apended report your committee are of the opinion that it will be better for Weymouth not to enter the Metropolitan System at the present time, but to develope, preserve and protect our own sources of water supply to the utmost, doing all things necessary to make our own pumping, storage and dis- tribution system of greater utility. The use of our own re- sources in this behalf we are convinced is the way of best economy and satisfaction, and we believe that a study of the matter con- tained in Mr. Stevens' report will confirm this judgement.
Respectfully submitted
RUSSELL H. WHITING, chairman PRINCE H. TIRRELL, secretary GEORGE W. PERRY KENNETH L. NASH FRED O. STEVENS
Voted : That the report of the committee be accepted.
March 6, 1922.
(Mr. Fred O. Stevens report is herewith printed in full)
REPORT ON
PROPOSED METROPOLITAN WATER SUPPLY
For
THE TOWN OF WEYMOUTH MASS.
Prepared for Committee on
METROPOLITAN WATER SUPPLY
By
FRED O. STEVENS, Engineer
1920-21
22
RUSSELL H. WHITING PRINCE H. TIRRELL KENNETH L. NASH GEORGE W. PERRY
Committee on Proposed Metropolitan Water Supply.
Gentlemen :
In accordance with a vote of your committee, I am submitting the following report on a detailed study of the present and future water supply for the Town of Weymouth.
The main question involved is that of the advisibility of giving up the local supply and taking water from the Metropolitan. To give an intelligent answer to this question it has been necessary to study the extent of the local water resources, their quality, the present condition of the distribution works ,the future expenditure necessary to keep pace with the growth of the town, and methods and costs of purification.
It has seemed advisible to make the detailed results of these studies a matter of record, hence the length of this report.
The subject matter is arranged under the following heads :
I Future Requirements.
Pages 2- 3
II Local Resources
Pages 3- 6
III Improvements Necessary to Provide Proper Flow and Pressure with Local System.
Pages 7-13
IV Quality of Great Pond Water and Cost of Purification.
Pages
13-16
V Metropolitan Supply
Pages
16-18
VI Comparative Costs and Advantages of Local and Metropolitan Supplies VII Conclusions
Pages
18-19
Pages
19-20
PLATE 1. POPULATION CURVE TOWN OF WEY MOUNT, MASS
30,000
.
15,00€
20.000
15,000
0
0
10,000-
0
O
5,000
0
O
17 90
18/10
18/30
1850
18 70
18/70
19/10
19/30
1950
19 70
1
24
FUTURE REQUIREMENTS
(a) Future Population :
Plan 1 shows graphically the population of Weymouth by five years periods since 1790. The figures for increase in pop- ulation prior to 1900 are of little value as an index of the future, but since that time growth has been fairly uniform and consider- ing all conditions it seems impossible that the rate of increase can be any less in the future. The average increase for that period has been at the rate of 15.5 per cent. per decade, and with the present prospects for building, and building up of industries in the town and on its borders, it seems that 20 per cent. per decade for the next 50 years will be a very conservative estimate.
This applies only to the permanent population which the census finds. In addition to this water must be furnished to a summer population, estimated as follows :
The water department at the present time has 800 summer customers. The custom has always been in estimating water supply to allow five persons to a family, but in order to be sure of a conservative estimate of consumption, I have allowed four per- sons to a service, making the estimate summer population 3200. Assuming that this service is furnished for an average of four months per year, a summer population of 3200 is equivalent to a year around population of 1,066 or say 1,100.
While there will be a certain number of new summer services each year, there will also be a number of summer services that will be changed to all the year around, their owners becoming a part of the permanent population previously estimated. For this reason I have allowed for a smaller increase in this class of service or 15 per cent.
The projected population on this basis would be as follows :
Permanent
Summer
1920
15,057
1,100
1930
18,068
1,265
1940
21,682
1,455
1950
26,018
1,673
1960
31,222
1,924
(b) Consumption :
All estimates of consumption will be based upon the assump- tion that the permanent services will be 100 per cent metered, as it is the intention of the water department to accomplish this within the next year or two.
The total amount of water furnished is divided into two classes : -
1. Domestic, which includes all water used in private dwell- ings, stores, public halls, schools-buildings, fountains etc., and all lost through underground leakage.
2. Commercial, which is that part used by manufacturing plants.
The domestic consumption of a 100 per cent. metered com- munity can usually be quite accurately estimated, and for a town like Weymouth should be very close to 50 gallons per day per capita. The town of Braintree keeps this consumption down to about 45 gallons, while Milton and a few others have done even better.
25
With proper attention to underground leakage Weymouth should not exceed 50 gallons for this class of service.
For the summer service, when unmetered, and furnished through shallow pipes, experience has shown that it is unsafe to figure on less than 100 gallons per day per capita.
The normal commercial consumption at the present time is about 200,000 gallons per day, upon which I have allowed a nor- mal increase of 20 per cent per decade to take care of increased consumption by present consumers and the addition of a limited number of small commercial customers, as the town increases in population.
In case of the advent of a large industry such as the pro- posed Edison plant at North Weymouth, it will be necessary to give careful consideration to the effect of the increased con- sumption before contracting to furnish the industry with water.
The estimates total future consumption for Weymouth based on these rates is shown by the following table :-
Consumption thousands of gallons per day
Metered
Year
Domestic
Unmetered Domestic
Commercial
Total
1920
752.8
110.0
200.0
1,062.8
1930
903.4
126.5
240.0
1,269.9
1940
1084.1
145.5
288.0
1,517.6
1950
1300.9
167.3
345.6
1,813.8
II. LOCAL RESOURCES
(a) Yield of Great Pond :
(1) Area of Water Shed
The yield of this drainage area seems to have been very much underestimated by the engineer who designed the works, probably due to the fact that the southern end of the watershed is very flat and was at that time more than at the present covered with a dense undergrowth, making its bounderies very difficult to de- fine.
The original estimate was for a drainage area of 631 acres of land surface and 293 acres of water or a total of 924 acres, from which under the methods in use at that time an average daily yield of 820,000 gallons was computed. These figures were based upon the collection of 50 per cent of the average rainfall and apparently no account was taken of the effect of extremely dry seasons.
That this estimate was much too small is evident from the fact that since that time we have passed through the driest period experienced since records were kept in this locality, supplying an average of considerably over 1,000.000 gallons per day without exhausting storage to a danger point.
I have been unable to make a detailed survey of the watershed, but by using typographical maps of the U. S. Geological Survey and checking and correcting the doubtful points by actual survey have arrived at an estimate of its area which I believe to be sub- stantially correct.
This estimate gives a total area of 1597 acres, and I have
-
26
used in computation of run-off the round figures of 1600 acres or 2.5 sq. miles.
The Water Department since 1914 has made a careful sur- vey of the high water line and of the pond itself to a depth of 12 ft. below high water and finds the areas of water surface to be as follows :
With Pond At High Water Mark or Elevation 164.00 300 Acres
One ft. below high water mark 163.00
285 Acres
Three ft. below high water mark 161.00 248 Acres
Five ft. below high water mark 159.00
223 Acres
Six ft. below high water mark
158.00
209.6 Acres
(2) Storage Capacity
The computed storage is:
Between high water and 1 ft. below high water
95,500,000 gals.
Between 1 ft, below H. W. and 3 ft. below H. W. 174,000,000 gals. Between 3 ft. below H. W. and 5 ft. below H. W. 153,100,000 gals.
Total available by drawing pond down 5 ft. 422,600,000 gals.
Between 5 ft. below H. W. and 6 ft. below H. W. 70,400,000 gals.
Total available by drawing pond down 6 ft. 493,000,000 gals.
The question as to the advisibility of drawing this pond to the depth of 6 feet, is a troublesome one. When in case of a reser- voir of this nature the water is drawn down to such an extent as to expose large parts of its bottom, for a long period, vegetation springs up on these portions, and microscopic organisms, multiply in areas where water is shallow, resulting in a deterioration in the quality of the water.
Table 2 Deficiencies in Storage and Resulting Levels of Great Pond Due to an Average Daily Draft of 1,500,000 gals. 1908-1916
Period
From
To
Rainfall Collected from Great Pond Watershed in Millions of Gals. (Sudbury Basis)
Consumption in Millions of Gals. Summer Period 1,630,000 g.p.d.
Winter Period 1,370,000 g.p.d.
Deficiency in Storage at End of Period in Millions of Gals.
Feet Below High Water Mark
Feet Above Mean Low Water in Boston Harbor
Jan. 1, 1908
May 31, 1908
None
Full
164.00
June 1, 1908
Nov. 31, 1908
21.70
291
269.3
3.0
161.00
Dec. 1, 1908
May 31, 1909
487.1
249
31.2
0.4
163.60
June 1, 1909
Nov. 31, 1909
16.7
291
305.5
3.4
160.60
Dec. 1, 1909
May 31, 1910
438.0
249
116.5
1.2
162.80
June 1,
1910
Nov. 31, 1910
31.2
291
376.3
4.4
159.60
Dec.
1, 1910
May 31, 1911
298.0
249
327.3
3.6
160.40
June 1, 1911
Nov. 31, 1911
80.5
291
537.8
6.6
157.40
Dec. 1, 1911
May 31, 1912
658.5
249
128.3
1.3
162.70
June 1, 1912
Nov. 31, 1912
10.8
291
408.5
4.8
159.20
Dec. 1,
1912
May 31, 1913
510.0
249
147.5
1.5
162.50
June 1. 1913
Nov. 31, 1913
74.0
291
364.5
4.2
159.80
Dec. 1,
1913
May 31. 1914
655.0
249
None
Full
164.00
June 1,
1914
Nov. 31, 1914
11.9
291
279.1
3.2
160.80
Dec.
1, 1914
May 31, 1915
347.0
249
181.1
1.9
162.10
June 1, 1915
Nov. 31, 1915
197.0
291
275.1
3.1
160.90
Dec.
1, 1915
May 31, 1916
648.0
249
None
Full
164.00
Pond Level at End of Period
28
In some reservoirs such conditions have resulted in extremely offensive tastes and odors at times, but it is unlikely that when the amount exposed is such a small part of the total area of the pond, as in this case, that any such serious difficulty would be encountered. As a matter of fact, this pond has been drawn five feet on at least two different occasions in the past, and while I was not in Weymouth at the time to observe conditions, I have never heard of any great difference in the quality of the water being noted.
Moreover, such dry periods as would necessitate drawing down to this level, are of very rare occurance, and it would not appear to be good business to reduce our estimates of safe yield, and hasten expenditures for additional supply, to guard against the possibility of a slight discomfort, which according to past experi- ence is not likely to occur oftener than once in fifty years.
(3) Run Off
Since no records have ever been kept of the amount of water wasted over the outlet spillway at Great Pond, and records of pond level are incomplete, the run off from the water shed must be estimated by comparison with that of a similar water shed which has been carefully measured.
Such a watershed is that of the Sudbury River, the flow from which has been measured with great care by the City of Boston, and the Metropolitan Water Board since 1875.
For the eight-year dry period, (1908-15,) upon which my studies are based, the average rainfall for Great Pond locality as represented by measurements of the Hingham Water Company at Accord Pond, only four miles distant, differ from that of the Sudbury Area by less than 11/2 inches, a very slight difference which I have disregarded and assumed the rainfall for the two basins as being equal.
Due to its greater percentage of water surface and consequent greater evaporation, the actual yield per square mile of the Great Pond water shed would be only about 0.9 that of the Sudbury.
Applying this correction to the observed yield in inches of the Sudbury area for the dry period 1908 to 1915 gives the probable yield in inches of the Great Pond drainage for the same period, as shown by Table 2.
This table shows in detail that an average yield of 1,500,000 gallons per day could have been maintained throughout this period by drawing the pond at one time to 6.6 ft. below the H. W. M. I believe this to be the maximum dry period yield that could be depended upon from this water shed, and that an additional supply should be in readiness before the normal consumption reaches this figure.
According to previous estimates of consumption (page 2), the consumption in 1940 will be slightly over 1,500,000 gallons and it would be necessary to take steps toward providing for addit- ional supply as early at least as 1935. It must be borne in mind that the consumption estimated was based on the following condi- tions, i,e. :
(1) That year around service be 100 per cent metered.
(2) That underground and other waste be kept at a minimum This would involve frequent waste surveys, and con-
29
stant vigilance on the part of the water department.
(3) A normal rate of increase in population but little great- er than that for the past decade, and 10 per cent. less than that maintained by the neighboring town of Brain- tree for the last two decades.
(4) That there be no abnormal increase in the commercial consumption due to large industrial development.
It is clear that any deviation from these conditions will hasten the date of the introduction of a new supply, and it is quite pos- sible for this date to be hastened by from five to ten years. For instance, the Edison Co. has expressed a desire for 200,000 gallons per day at their North We ymouth plant, and if this were furnished and all other conditions strictly adhered to, it would mean that the new supply must be in operation by 1930, and that definite efforts to secure such a supply must be made not later than 1925.
Knowing these facts, it seems to me imperative that immediate steps be taken to locate an additional source of supply in the town, since if such a supply can not be found, it will be ab- soutely necessary to enter the Metropolitan System some time be- tween now and 1940: in which case it would be poor business to make the large expenditures necessary upon the local systems.
(b) Additional Supply :
There are several locations where, according to surface in- dications, it would be possible to obtain a ground water supply.
I have been especially impressed with the country along Old Swamp River near Park Street. If an auxiliary supply could be obtained here, it could be handled very economically through a small automatically operated, electrically driven plant delivering to the South Weymouth Standpipe through a main which, as shown later in this report must soon be laid as a feeder to the northern part of the town.
Tests should be made in this locality at once and if sucessful, the land should be acquired. No further investment would be necessary until shortage of the Great Pond supply was actually threatened.
Such an arrangement seems to me to be an ideal one, since it allows the town to use its present supply up to the extreme limit of its capacity, being in the meanwhile fully insured against the possibility of an embarrassing shortage, at a trivial expense.
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