USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Rockland > Town annual report of the officers of the town of Rockland Massachusetts for the year ending 1959 > Part 12
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Approximately 6258 feet of 8 inch cement lined cast iron pipe on the new by-pass road from Union Street in Weymouth, to Weymouth Street in Rockland was installed at the expense of the U. S. Navy Department to replace the present Mutual Emergency connection with Wey- mouth, that will be discontinued when the Air Base run- ways are completed. Of this amount of 6258 feet, approx-
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Town of Rockland
imately 340 feet is in Rockland, 3006 feet in Hingham, and 2912 feet in Weymouth. Control gates were installed at both the Rockland and Hingham line, and at the Wey- mouth and Hingham Line, the pipe in the Town of Hing- ham is to remain as a trunk line, with no connections from it. The Rockland Department installed a gated hydrant at the Rockland Hingham Line of the new by-pass road.
The continued cooperation of Police Chief Adolph Johnson and his men in relaying emergency telephone calls is sincerely appreciated by the department.
The continued cooperation of Fire Chief Inkley and his men in maintaining a 24 hour check on the water pressure in the system is sincerely appreciated by the Department.
S. W. BAKER JOHN A. DUNN ERNEST C. FISHER
Board of Water Commissioners
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Eighty-sixth Annual Report
TREASURER'S REPORT OF LOCAL AND JOINT WATER DEPARTMENT ACCOUNTS FOR 1959
Joint Water Department RECEIPTS
Joint Rates
$ 7,744.00
Abington, One-half Maintenance
26,745.97
Rockland, One-half Maintenance
26,745.97
$ 61,235.94
PAYMENTS
Joint Warrants
$ 53,491.94
One-half Joint Rates to Abington
3,872.00
One-half Joint Rates to Rockland
3,872.00
$ 61,235.94
Local Water Department RECEIPTS
Rates, Construction etc.
$102,829.41
One-half Joint Rates
3,872.00
$106,701.41
PAYMENTS
Warrants One-half Joint Warrants
$ 73,760.68
26,745.97
$100,506.65
Receipts over payments
$6,194.76
Received from Water liens under tax collections
1,112.59
$ 7,307.35
Respectfully submitted, M. VINCENT FITZGIBBONS Treasurer of Local and Joint Accounts
PUMPING STATION RECORD - 1959
PEMBROKE STATION
1959
Daily
Month
Hours Pumping Hrs. Min.
Average Hrs. Min.
Gallons Pumped
ABINGTON STATION Gallons Pumped
BOTH STATIONS Total Gallons
Average Height Rockland Tank 1 (Feet)
Average Pond Level Pembroke 2 (El.)
January
559
05
18
11
44,760,000
None
44,760,000
23.3
55.63
February
380
05
13
35
38,930,000
None
38,930,000
23.8
55.86
March
427
25
13
47
43,423,000
None
43,423,000
23.72
56.56
April
394
50
13
45
42,072,000
None
42,072,000
23.5
57.25
May
440
15
14
12
47,285,000
5,146,100
52,431,000
23.0
57.07
June
341
38
11
25
35,145,000
15,134,500
50,279,500
23.8
56.09
July
467
15
04
39,170,000
16,049,100
55,219,100
23.5
56.64
August
447
40
14
26
47,633,000
16,300,000
63,933,000
23.86
55.9
September
377
05
12
34
39,812,000
14,961,300
54,773,300
23.3
55.55
October
320
10
10
21
35,545,000
15,700,700
51,245,700
23.33
55.32
November
273
15
9
21
31,324,000
15,483,700
46,807,700
23.3
55.44
December
418
15
13
20
31,278,000
17,251,400
48,529,400
23.5
55.76
Totals
476,377,000
116,026,800
592,403,800
1. Depth of Water in Rockland Tank when full, 25 feet. 2. Highwater Mark, Great Sandy Bottom Pond is El. 58.30, Mean Sea Level.
Pembroke Station: Weekly record, August 13 through 19, 12,980,000 gallons.
Maximum daily record, August 17, 2,053,000 gallons.
Total water pumped, 592,403,800 gallons is 14,661,100 gallons more than in 1958.
LEWIS E. WHEELER Chief Engineer
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Town of Rockland
....
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Eighty-sixth Annual Report
REPORT OF WATER REGISTRAR
To the Joint Board of Water Commissioners of Abington and Rockland :
Gentlemen :
I herewith submit my report as Water Registrar for the year ending December 31, 1959.
Collected from water rates $7,728.00
Turned in to Town Treasurer 7,728.00
Services shut off permanently 2
New services added 8
Total services now in use 185
There has been about a 16% increase in services in the last five (5) years. With a new development already started in the Beech Hill section I look for a more rapid rise in this percentage.
Cooperation shown by those concerned is greatly appreciated.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLARD NICKERSON
Water Registrar
205
Town of Rockland
REPORT OF THE JOINT BOARD OF WATER COMMISSIONERS OF ABINGTON AND ROCKLAND
To the Inhabitants of the Towns of Abington and Rock- land.
The Joint Board of Water Commissioners of Abing- ton and Rockland submits herewith its report for the year which ended on December 31, 1959. This board was crea- ted and functions under the provisions of Section 13 of Chapter 206 of the Acts of 1885 and is composed of the Boards of Water Commissioners of Abington and Rock- land. Said Section 13 provides in part as follows :- "and such joint water board shall have the supervision, manag- ement and control of the water jointly taken and held by such towns under the act, and the letting down of the same, and of all the water works property and appurten- ances jointly owned heldor used by such towns".
The following Legislative Acts created and govern the Joint Works :-
Chapter 206 of the Acts of 1885 Chapter 139 of the Acts of 1886
Chapter 56 of the Acts of 1897 Chapter 200 of the Acts of 1903 Chapter 618 of the Acts of 1945 Chapter 665 of the Acts of 1949 Chapter 208 of the Acts of 1952
Chapter 180 of the Acts of 1953 Chapter 535 of the Acts of 1959
The last Legislative Act pertaining specifically to the Joint Water Works is Chapter 535 of the Acts of 1959 which reads as follows: "Notwithstanding the provisions of Section six of Chapter fifty-nine of the General Laws or any other provision of general or special law to the con- trary, the annual payments to be paid in the year Nine- teen Hundred and Sixty and in subsequent years to the Town of Pembroke by the City of Brockton, and the Towns of Abington and Rockland, in lieu of taxes on property
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Eighty-sixth Annual Report
held for the purpose of water supply or the protection of its sources in the Town of Pembroke shall not be less than the amounts so paid by the aforesaid city, and towns to the Town of Pembroke in the year nineteen hundred and fifty-nine."
Officials of the Town of Pembroke petitioned for the above Legislation and stated they were prompted by the fact that the General Laws provided that property owned by one Town and located in another should not be subject to taxation but that the Town owning the property should annually pay an amount based on the average of the as- sessed valuations of the property for the three years prior to its acquisition. This established a fixed valuation and the annual payments fluctuated only with the Pembroke tax rate. Pembroke proposes to establish a new system of valuation in 1960 based on substantially 100 percent of the sale value of each parcel. This should result in a radical decrease in their tax rate, and of course in our payments in lieu of taxes which was $983.97 in 1959 and was based on a $87.00 tax rate on $11,310. valuation. The Pembroke Bill was opposed at the Legislative hearing by Representative Vinson Blanchard and by our Chair- man. The City of Brockton offered no opposition and it was reported that its officials were agreeable to the in- creased payments. During the discussion of this bill we were able to come to an agreement with the officials of Pembroke on the correct valuation upon which the future payments in lieu of taxes are to be based. This matter has been in dispute for years and had been before the Appellate Tax Board and the Superior Court without a clear determination because the general statute makes different provisions in case a property is yielding rent or is acquired only to protect an existing supply. We are pleased to be in agreement on a valuation of $11,310.00. The future annual payments will remain at $983.97 until we have acquired additional property or the Pembroke Tax rate increases to an amount which will require a pay- ment higher than $983.97 based on the $11,310.00 valua-
207
Town of Rockland
tion, or there is a sufficient change in both factors.
Late in 1959 a bill was introduced in the General Court for the City of Brockton which would, if enacted seriously encroach upon the authority granted Abington and Rockland under existing laws and upon the water available from our present sources in Pembroke. Section 2 of Chapter 206 of the Acts of 1885 authorized Rock- land and Abington (and South Abington) to unite and jointly take and hold "- the waters of Great Sandy Bot- tom Pond in the Town of Pembroke, and the waters which flows into and from the same, or any part thereof". Acting under this authority on July 2, 1886 the Chairman of the Construction Committees of Abington and Rock- land for the inhabitants of those towns by an instrument of taking later filed in Book 529, Page 512 of Plymouth Deeds took possession of certain land for a Pumping Sta- tion and dam and a source of water supply described as follows. "We have also taken possession of said Great Sandy Bottom Pond with its inlets, outlets and shores - for the uses and purposes set forth in said Legislative Acts." In the descripton of the land taken and the plan which was filed with it - it shows that a portion of Fur- nace Pond was taken at the location of the outlet of Great Sandy Bottom Pond into Furnace Pond. This is described as land bounded by a line running to a stone bound at highwater mark "Furnace Pond" and thence in in the same range (S57 E. forty-four and one half meters) (146 ft.) to a stake in the Pond, then turning at right angles and running South 33 West twenty-eight meters (92 ft.) to a stone bound in or near said highwater mark; and thence in the same range (S33 W) across the neck -. " The authority to take water was extended by the following provisions of an amendment to said Chapter 206 which was enacted as Chapter 618 of the Acts of 1945 and which added the following sentence to said Section. "The said Towns, for the purpose aforesaid, may by means of driven or other wells or filter galleries placed in land owned by said towns, and not more than one hundred feet
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Eighty-sixth Annual Report
distant from said pond (Great Sandy Bottom Pond), take, hold and convey as aforesaid the waters of said pond and the waters in the ground thereunder." Under the above mentioned acts facilities have been constructed and are now in use to take water from the pond at two sepa- rate points and from the ground by means of two separate wells.
The provisions of the Brockton Bill would authorize the City to take and hold the waters of Furnace Pond and of Oldham Pond and to direct the flow from those ponds to Silver Lake the present supply of that City. They would also authorize the City to take by purchase or otherwise and hold the waters of any pond, brook or stream within the limits of the watersheds of those ponds. Great Sandy Bottom Pond and its watershed is a part of the watershed of Furnace Pond. The two ponds are separated by a nar- row strip of land for about 2,000 feet and we were advised by Weston and Sampson consulting engineers, in 1952 when a similar proposal was made by Brockton, that any lowering of Furnace Pond will lower our Great Sandy Bottom Pond.
The recent survey of the Massachusetts Water Re- sources Commission classified the soil Q I C which means ice channel filling in long narrow ridges of gravel and sand. Under date of Jan. 10, 1884 a report from Consult- ing Engineer Simpson C. Heald to the Abington and Rock- land water committee (Abington report 1884 p. 88) stated in part, "The three ponds, (Oldham, Furnace and Great Sandy Bottom Pond) being so near the same level, I have considered it as one large pond. This would give an available area of four hundred and fifty-seven (457) acres. One foot of water over four hundred and fifty (450) acres, would be one hundred and forty-six millions, five hundred and twenty-two thousands (146,522,000) gallons."
The bill would require that Brockton allow a mini- mum daily flow of 1,000,000 gallons from Furnace Pond to pass down stream at all times except in case of emergency
209
Town of Rockland
when less water might be discharged down stream if di- rected by the Department of Public Health. During the months of October to May inclusive, all flow in excess of 1,000,000 gallons could be diverted to Silver Lake. Dur- ing the months of June through September the excess flow could be diverted only as allowed by the Department of Public Health.
In 1952 we proposed two amendments to a similar bill filed by Brockton. The first would have forbidden any water to be diverted when the level of Furnace Pond was more than three feet below the highwater mark thereof as described in the instrument of taking previously mentioned and which is dated July 2, 1886 and filed in Plymouth Deeds Book 529 Page 512. This highwater mark is also described in a deed from Deborah Foster to Abington and Rockland dated June 24, 1889 and record- ed in Plymouth Deeds, Book 579, Page 437 to 441. The highwater mark is identified by a substantial stone bound monument which was placed there by Abington and Rockland in 1886 and is shown on a plan filed in Plymouth Deeds Plan Book, Page 15. By a survey in 1952 its eleva- tion was determined to be at or about elevation 5900 feet above mean sea level of the United States Coast and Geo- detic Survey. The second amendment we proposed asked that another section be added which would state that the act would not abridge or interfere with the rights and privileges previously granted to Abington and Rockland by the several Legislative acts mentioned above.
The Act which authorized Abington and Rockland to take a water supply also required that they jointly pay all damages sustained by any person or corporation in property by anything done by said towns under the au- thority of that act, (Section 4 of Chapter 206 of the Acts of 1885). Three claims were made by persons who owned mills or mill privileges. One was at the outlet of Furnace Pond, another was about one-half mile down stream from that outlet and the third was about two miles down stream from that outlet. All were settled by the Joint Board out
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Eighty-sixth Annual Report
of court. The first was awarded $3,000.00, another $750. 00 and the other $500.00. These figures do not include the large legal expenses as some claims were in litigation for several years. The deed of Deborah Foster for the land for the Pumping Station and upon which was located the outlet channel to Furnace Pond also conveyed all "water, water source, water rights or easement belonging or ap- pertaining to the land included and enclosed within the bounds herein described.
From the above mentioned facts it appears that Ab- ington and Rockland invested their money to install the joint water works at this distant location in the belief that Great Sandy Bottom Pond was only one of a group of three ponds all located so close to each other that they could be considered as one pond, as far as the quantity of water which could be obtained was concerned. It also appears that Abington and Rockland paid damages to persons located more than two miles down stream from the point at which Brockton now desires to install facilities to divert water into another watershed. We believe that every step should be taken to prevent any act being done which would lower the level of any of these three ponds. In the recent past there have been years with less than normal rainfall during which the level of Great Sandy Bottom Pond did not rise to its highwater mark, at any time because of the ever increasing quantities which have been pumped from it into the joint system.
The repeated efforts of Brockton to obtain water from the outlet of Furnace Pond for eight months of each year, and for the other four months with the approval of the Department of Public Health, indicates that they have been advised that it is possible to take water which has been used for bathing and boating, and treat it in such a manner that it is suitable for domestic use. Section 172. of Chapter 111 of the General Laws reads as follows: "Who- ever bathes in a pond, stream or reservoir the water of which is used for domestic water supply for a town shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten dollars." In
211
Town of Rockland
1952 Brockton also filed another bill which would have amended this section so that bathing would be permitted in a secondary supply if the water was treated so that the immediate source from which a domestic supply was taken would not be endangered.
If it is possible to treat the water of Furnace Pond which includes the water which flows into it from Old- ham Pond, both ponds being used extensively for bathing and boating, in such a manner that it is suitable to enter Silver Lake and then be pumped into the Brockton system we see no reason why it cannot be similarly treated and permitted to be pumped into Great Sandy Bottom Pond and from there into the Abington and Rockland joint system. We firmly believe that Abington and Rockland have a prior claim to the watershed of Furnace Pond for the reasons stated above and also from the fact that the Legislative authority for Abington and Rockland to go to Great Sandy Bottom Pond for water was granted in 1885 and the authority for Brockton to go to Silver Lake was not granted until 1899. As recently as 1955 Abington and Rockland jointly relined the six miles of 16 inch pipe from Great Sandy Bottom Pond to Rockland and the 12 inch pipes continuing on into the two towns at a cost of over $200,000.00. In the same year new and larger pumping facilities were jointly installed at a cost of over $40,000.00 at the main Pumping Station at Great Sandy Bottom Pond. Another lot of land was purchased in 1959 for the pur- pose of providing fill and for the protection of the Walnut Street well in Abington. It is situated on the west side of the Shumatuseacant River and adjoins the land previous- ly purchased of Caroline Hohman and others. There is also a possibility that there may be water in the ground. It also includes a strip 40' in width which provides access to a location where we have found considerable water. The deed is from The Wardson Corp. to the Town of Abington and the Town of Rockland, jointly, as is dated 16 May, 1959, and is recorded with Plymouth Deed Book 2717, Page 474.
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Eighty-sixth Annual Report
The Joint Board has authorized its Chairman to take all steps possible to protect the interests of Abington and Rockland and has reviewed the proposals made in 1952. It now appears that we will ask for amendments to the Brockton Bill which will :
1. Exclude Great Sandy Bottom Pond and its water- shed from all provisions of the bill.
2. Forbid Brockton to permit any water to flow downstream from Furnace Pond at any time the surface of that pond has fallen below the level of the stone bound which identifies its highwater mark and whose location is shown on the plan filed in Plymouth Deeds, Plan Book 1, Page 15 by Abington and Rockland in 1886.
3. Specifically state that nothing in the bill shall interfere with the rights granted to Abington and Rock- land by Chapter 206 of the Acts of 1885, Chapter 200 of the Acts of 1903 and Chapter 618 of the Acts of 1945.
As the principal function of the Joint Board is to provide water for the two Towns to distribute to their respective inhabitants we have constantly in mind the greater quantity of water being used by each individual taker and by the new takers which are being added as new buildings are constructed. We also have in mind the ade- quacy of the system to supply water at a rate sufficient to extinguish fires and to supply present and future users. extinguish fires and to supply present and future industrial users. Every pertinent fact indicates that we must expect the demand for water to increase and that we should plan for meeting this demand in the most economical manner. In the hope that there may be ground water within the limits of the towns we purchased supplies for drill test wells and employed two men, one from each town, to drill in the locations which appeared most promising. The test wells determined the depth of bedrock and whether soil was a porous sand or gravel containing a large percentage of water or was of a clay nature and therefore incapable of storing water.
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Town of Rockland
In the vicinity of the Walnut Street Well in Abington we found several additional locations in which it would be practical to install small wells and pumps and then pipe the water to the present station so that the high pressure pump would force into the system. In two locations we installed wells and pumps capable of pumping about 75 gallons per minute each and since late Summer they have been running continuously pumping water into the large well. The water of these wells is of excellent quality with the exception that the iron content is higher than is de- sired. Much valuable information has been obtained and it has been estimated by experienced persons that the ground in the vicinity of the Walnut Street Well is capa- ble of yielding water at a rate of 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 gallons per day by the installation of several small wells located at a distance from each other so that the level of the ground water will not be excessively lowered at any one point. This method should also reduce the liability of drawing in colored water for the same reason. Whether the combined water of several small wells would have so much iron that it would be necessary to remove it before pumping it into the system is uncertain at present and can be determined only by trial. It now seems that it would be advisable to install the wells and pumps first and start using the water and to install a removal plant later if it was found necessary or desirable. All legal requirements for taking water from additional wells in the vicinity have been complied with as on Jan. 30, 1950 at special town meetings the voters of both Abington and Rockland rati- fied the acts of the Joint Board in taking the water in the ground located south of Summer Street, west of the Shumatuecacant River, north of the Abington-Whitman boundary line and east of Walnut Street. This action was taken pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 665 of the Acts of 1949. We now feel that we have sufficient infor- mation to proceed promptly to obtain an additional sup- ply of water if the demand should exceed our present supply and if the need should warrant the expenditures necessary.
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Eighty-sixth Annual Report
We do not at this time recommend any specific steps towards an additional supply for several reasons. We are now drilling in Rockland and in the vicinity of Great Sandy Bottom Pond for more favorable sources but the study is incomplete. The Southeastern Massachusetts Wa- ter District Commission is studying the supplies in this section of the State and was given permission to continue and to report not later than May 1st, 1961, by Chapter 77 of the Resolves of 1959. The Massachusetts Water Re- sources Commission in conjunction with the U. S. Depart- ment of the Interior, is also studying this whole area on a systematic basis and it has been given until May 1, 1961 to report by Chapter 83 of the Resolves of 1959. We have been able to obtain some advance information on the nature of the information that is being obtained, and know that when their combined studies are completed we will all know for the first time the location, areas, and depths of the water bearing soils and thus have a basis upon which to plan a water district or the institution of joint action by two or more towns. The information obtained to date confirms that which we have obtained in the past ten years by exploration. This shows that there are rela- tively few locations within the limits of Abington and Rockland where the geological formations are of the type which store water in quantities which makes their devel- opment practical. We have been approached by officials of neighboring towns where they have found ground wa- ters in considerable quantities and are interested in finding a purchaser for their excess water.
There has been no official change in the past year relative to a supply of Metropolitan District water for this area. Unofficially it appears that the present members of the District will oppose any effort to divert water from the metropolitan area, and that any group in this area which desires water from their source will be required to lay their own mains to the vicinity of Marlboro. This would be a very expensive undertaking.
The closing of North Union Street in Rockland by
:
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Town of Rockland
the extension of the So. Weymouth Naval Air Base re- sulted in the construction by the State of a by-pass for Rockland-Weymouth traffic. This is located partly in Hingham. The State laid an 8 inch water main to take the place of the former connection with the Weymouth sys- tem. The construction of the Southeast Expressway and relocated Route 3 has again brought up a request for a supply of water to that part of Hingham which cannot be reached from the Hingham Water Company system. We have met with the Selectmen of Hingham but no definite agreement has been reached. We have requested that the Hingham Water Company supply an equal quantity of water for any we might supply to Hingham residents.
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