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ESJ # 5 – Worcester reservoir
EJS Field Trip Report – Worcester Water Reservoir
Sarah Ouellette
On Monday, December 8th, 2008 our Environmental science class visited the water treatment plant located at 71 Stone House hill Road inn Holden MA. In 1984 the city of Worcester became very concerned with the population growth and the building of new homes in and around Worcester. City officials got together with town officials around Worcester and began to talk about and plan ways to “protect preserve, and expand its supply of potable water.” The final decision was to build a new water filtration plant to clean and filter drinking water for the 200,000 people that needed it at the time.
Our first observation when we pulled into the parking lot was that there was a lot of tall trees, the clear water of the reservoir, and the enormous size of the Water Treatment Plant. We were greeted by a man who worked at the Water treatment Plant and were taken on a tour of the facility. While on the tour of the water treatment plant and in out environmental science class we learned some amazing facts about the 10 reservoirs and the treatment plant. We learned that there is only one treatment plant for the 10 reservoirs, all of the reservoirs are located outside of Worcester, the plant can treat over 50 million gallons a day, and that careful thought was taken to make sure that the plant building would blend in naturally with the environment. We also learned in class that the “safe drinking water act amendments of 1986 dictate that all surface water supplies must use filtration to treat drinking water if they can not meet highly straighten water quality and reliability criteria” The water treatment plant is built on a Gacre site right next to the eastern shore of the
1. Holden Reservoir #2.
The tour of the water treatment plant allowed our environmental science class to learn some amazing statistics about the construction of the facility. It took 3 years to build the water plant and cost $31 million dollars. The total cost owed on the entire project was 65 million dollars. One of the reasons that 10 reservoirs were built outside of the city was so that they could avoid the heavy amounts of pollution that a city can create. Where there are less people you usually have less pollution. People are not allowed to build houses or businesses near the reservoirs. They try to have plenty of buffer zone to separate the water of the reservoirs. They try to have plenty of buffer zones to separate the water of the Reservoirs from people and pollution. Some other interesting facts we learned about the water treatment plant is that there is only one pump that helps bring the water to the plant and the rest of the water is brought inn by gravity. We also learned that if they water treatment plant shuts off for more than 6 hours that the city of Worcester will not have water. The electricity to run the plants is only about $290.00 a year. A lot of money is to get the treatment plant. It would have cost a lot more for electricity if they had to use powered pumps. It is also interesting that there are not any janitors at the facility to keep it clean. People who work at the plant are expected to clean up after themselves. This also helps them to save a lot of money by not having to hire janitors. The water treatment plant is a mirror image of other plans that have been made in the past. These plans are made to blend inn to the environment and use very little energy to run. They are built to look attractive and to disturb the natural environment as little as possible.
2. Water Treatment Plant.
During the field trip we were able to learn more about the science behind the treatment of the water at the plant and make some connections with what we have been learning about in or environmental class here at Worcester Academy. The first step in the water treatment process is disinfection. Ozone is generated from the air by pounds each day. It is important to point out that we learned during the tour of the plant that you can not buy ozone you have to make it on site. “The applied ozone averages 1 mg/L, with design maximum of 2 mg/L.” Nest is radio mixing/coagulation. They use aluminum sulfate and cationic polymer for this process. This helps separate the bad particles from the water. The bad particles in the water kill then begin to stick together into larger particles. This is called Flocculation. Now the water can go through the filtration process. The water is sent through 60 inches of coal and 12 inches of sand. This traps the large particles of unwanted organic matter. Finally, the use of Lime is to make a (pH) adjustment and to put Chlorine in the water for final disinfection. The water treatment plant can store 2.75 million gallons of treated water.
4. Ozone Generator.
While on the field trip our environmental science class learned more about water quality and safety such as, if water is non potable it is non drinkable. We learned that back water calves are used to stop sewage and contaminated water from getting into a fresh water system. A back water calve is a one-way valve that will not let bad water back up into fresh, clean water if there is some kind of clog or flood, the soil or water from the back water at the water treatment plant is recycled, when the back wash gets to a certain point they will drain and clean out the filter. Another interesting water quality and safety fact is that water pipes should be made of stainless steel so they do not rust and they should be insulated so that the cold water will not be attracted to the warm water. In conclusion, the field trip to the water treatment plant located at Hold Reservoir #2 was an amazing learning opportunity. We learned about the reservoirs, the treatment plant, the science of water treatment, and important water quality and safety facts.
Having learned so much about water reservoirs and the filtration process, I have become even more convened about protection our fresh water resources. I discovered a company called whisper wave that makes all kinds of special equipment that can be used to protect our water resources. They made all kinds of intrusion barriers that can prevent boats and ships form getting certain water areas. They offer all kinds of security protection for or reservoirs and water ways. “The reservoir infrastructure that has been created over the past 150 years is vital to out countries economy and welfare.”
4. Back water Valve.
Work cited:
1. City of Worcester, MA.
Public Works and Parks- Water Treatment Plant
www.ciworcester.ma.us/upw/water_oper/treatment_plant.htm
2. The Boston Indicators Project -2004
www.tbf.org/indicators2004/enviroment/inicators
3. Whisper wave (innovative maritime solutions)
4. www.whisperwave.com/reservoir.security.htm
EJS Field Trip Report – Worcester Treatmentn# 6
Sarah Ouellette
On Monday, December 1st, 2008 our Environmental Science class visited four reservoirs located in Worcester County. The Kettle Brook Reservoir # 1 is the smallest of the four reservoirs. At first observation it looked like a small pond. Near the reservoir was a school and some houses but none of them were right next to the reservoir. According to the Kettle Brook Reservoir # 1 information I found at the www.goingoutside.com website, the Kettle Brook Reservoir Number One is a fun lake to visit year round. According to article you can do a variety of out door activities. People can hike along the Ross Trail, camp at the Woodlot Camp Ground, go fishing, or just enjoy the beautiful scenery. There are also some pretty neat places to visit that are very close to the Kettle Brook Reservoir #1.
Reservoirs are man made lakes that are protected and secured so that the water does not get polluted. We did notice a lot of trash that has been dumped in the area around the reservoir; it is sad that people would take advantage of these quiet, isolated areas and dump their trash. We probably need to provide our reservoirs with better security. The Kettle Brook Reservoir #1 has a 19.3 million Gallon water capacity and is located at an elevation of 856 feet. The water shed that is a part of this reservoir is the Blackstone Valley River Watershed. The Kettle Brook Reservoir Number One is located in Leicster, MA.
1. Blackstone Watershed
Our Environmental Science also had the opportunity to visit Kettle Brook Reservoir Number Three which is also located in Leicster, Ma. Our first observations were the many trees planted on a hill. Most of these trees were Decidugious and Conifer Trees. Coniferous trees are trees that are mostly ever green, have needle like or scale-like leaves, and produce cones. Coniferous trees are sometimes grown on Farms and sold for Christmas and Holiday Celebrations. Deciduous trees are trees that shed or drop their leaves for some period of time each year. My father spends a lot of time raking these leaves each fall. I suggested he create and put the leaves in a compost pile at the edge of the woods behind our house. Deciduous trees lose their leaves when it gets cool or very dry. According to the National Program for Inspection of Non-Federal Dams, Kettle Brook Reservoir Number Three is “an earthen embankment structure with a masonry core wall.” It is important to point out that most reservoirs are man made lakes created by building a dam to hold back the water to make a lake or pond. The dam at Kettle Brook # 3 is 370 feet long and 32.5 feet high. Kettle Brook #3 Reservoir holds about 152.3 million gallons of water and is 1043.5 feet in elevation. We traveled to the town of Leicster just outside of Worcester where we found Kettle Brook reservoir # 3.
2. Kettle Brook 3
The next reservoir we visited is located In Paxton on Route 56 called Kettle Brook Number Four. Our first observation was the many white and red pine trees. There was also a barrier protection around the reservoir. Many of these trees were big and tall. These trees provide the reservoir with a much more natural protection. Kettle Brook Reservoir Number Four has a water capacity of 513.7 million gallons of water and is at an elevation of 1082.4 feet. The Kettle Brook Number Four Reservoir is also a part of the Blackstone River Watershed. According to the information provided by www.fishingworks.com the Kettle Brook Reservoir Number Three is also a great place to go fishing.
It is interesting to point out that the city of Worcester gets its fresh drinking water from 10 surface water sources that are located out side the city of Worcester. The water shed for these reservoirs cover 40 square miles in Leicester, Paxton, Rutland, Holden, Princeton, Hubbardston, and Worcester. What is also interesting to mention is that the city of Worcester also has two wells that supply water and another well out in Shrewsbury. The total amount of water supplied by the water sources are about 7,379.9 million gallons of water.
3. Kettle Brook 4.
Next up we headed to the town of Holden where there we found the Kendall Reservoir. The Kendall Reservoir holds 792.2 millions of gallon and is 813 feet in elevation. Unfortunately, one of our first observations was that there was a lot of trash left around the reservoir. We learned that it used to be called the Bureau of Water because we found an old sign that was still up today. We also observed more evergreen trees, red pine trees and some deciduous trees. There were also guard rails placed along the side of the road to stop cars from crashing into the reservoir. If cars ever crashed into the reservoir they could leak gas, oil, and other pollutants into the reservoir. The field trip to the reservoir on December 1st, 2008 was a great opportunity for our Environmental Science Class to see how our city water supply is set up and protected. We have learned in our Environmental Science class about the role of the Environmental Protection Agency, The Clean Water Act of 1972, and The Safe Water Act of 1975. We have also learned about pollutant types, first barrier protection, and the impact of people on our environment.
In class we learned about 6 other reservoirs that were very interesting. The first one is Lynde Brook which is located in Leicter. Lydne Brook holds 717.4 million gallons of water and is 824 ft in elevation. Lynde Brook runns into the Nashua Water shed. Kettle Brook Reservoir # 2 is another reservoir we talked about in class. Kettle Brook 2 holds 127.3 million gallons of water and has an elevation of 990.5 ft. Kettle Brook #2 is located inn Leicter and has Blackstone Valley as its watershed. The next reservoir I will be giving you information about is Pine Hill reservoir. Pine Hill reservoir
In conclusion the field trip to the reservoirs was fantastic and interesting. It made me better understand how important it is to take care and
protect out fresh water supplies. I was not happy to see a lot of littering around the reservoirs and would like to see more security to protect our fresh water resources.
Work cited:
1. www.goingoutside.com, 2008
2. www.realtrees4kids.com,2008
3. Corps of Engineers, Waltham, Ma, New England, 1981
4. www.fishingworks.com, 2008
5. City of Worcester Water Operations-2007 Water Quality Report
