At its May 20, 2025 meeting, the Board of Public Works (BoPW) members started the annual process of analyzing Fiscal Year 2025 budget results and forecasting expenses, revenues and water rates for FY26. The Board voted to elect George Uveges as chair and Michael Wegerbauer as vice chair for the coming year, swapping seats. For a full discussion see article on Water Rates.
Water Restrictions Necessary
Department of Public Works Director Tom Holder and Water Superintendent Don Millette requested early approval to implement a two-day-per-week watering schedule for nonessential outdoor water use due to current reduced pumping capacity and anticipated summer demand at the Happy Hollow and Baldwin Pond wells. The Board voted unanimously to authorize the enactment of seasonal water restrictions as needed.
Although groundwater levels have improved with recent rains, capacity is still reduced. Holder noted it takes several weeks for the public to adjust to new watering schedules. The board requested public education on how infrastructure limitations are driving the restrictions while avoiding the using the term “drought” as well as on enforcement to ensure compliance.
New Water Meter Installations Proceeding
Holder reported that the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project installing Neptune Meters that have Automatic Meter Readers (AMR) is 66% complete. An inside meter will connect to a transmitter on the outside wall. More info: tinyurl.com/wayland-AMR.
DPW has been working through challenges with data transfer, converting CSV files to TXT files for MUNIS processing and transfer to billing. The last route to be billed is Route 4, and DPW will meet the June 30 deadline for revenue collection. Resolving some signal interference issues with Verizon equipment on the Reeves Hill tower is ongoing.
The $1.3 million AMI installation was funded by the Water Enterprise Fund Retained Earnings as voted in article 12 at 2019 ATM to meet the MassDEP water conservation standards of June 2018 after a similar article not passing at ATM 2018. This money was matched by an earlier approved replacement program for aging water meters with a budget of $920,000.
Requests for a wireless meter reader system started as far back as 2008 (see story on page 10). The expected useful service life of a water meter reading system is 20 years. Aging meters can fail to register up to 12% of actual flow and American Water Works Association (AWWA) standard suggests replacement after 10 years.
The improved metering will allow the town to meet the state standard of four billings a year and to lower the need for customer abatements due to unaccounted for leaks. In 2019 an estimated approximately 58 million gallons of water was lost to unaccounted for leaks in the distribution system.
MassDEP Water Management regulations stipulate communities must leak test their distribution system every three years to demonstrate a less than 10% unaccounted for water loss to maintain the MassDEP permit to withdraw water. Moreninfo: tinyurl.com/wayland-water-meter.
Transfer Station Will Take Online Payments
After discussion, the board voted to increase Transfer Station sticker prices from $185 to $200, while eliminating a $10 credit card fee and making no changes to the bag prices.
The board approved transitioning to a cost-reducing online payment system for the Transfer Station using a newly installed Sportsman Web point-of-sale platform. This system will generate a proof of purchase that users can take to the Transfer Station to receive their physical sticker.
The board also emphasized capturing contact information (email addresses) to enable future outreach, such as renewal reminders and service updates. While in-person purchases will still be available, residents will be strongly encouraged to use the online system. Annual renewal permits are valid July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. More info: tinyurl.com/dpw-reg and tinyurl.com/transfer-station.
Board member Judy Ling suggested marketing the transfer station’s bulk item disposal option to residents whose curbside haulers do not accept certain items. The Board supported that idea and discussed possibly lowering the $50 bulk item drop-off fee in the future to increase usage.
Best Practices for Stormwater Management
During public comment former chair Cliff Lewis raised concerns about draft stormwater regulations proposed under Chapter 193. Lewis criticized the Conservation Commission’s proposal as “completely unworkable for the DPW,” arguing it would require unnecessary permitting for routine infrastructure projects.
Chair Michael Wegerbauer acknowledged the concerns but clarified that stormwater oversight rests with the Select Board. Holder confirmed the department had offered preliminary comments and would be submitting a formal response by June 10.
Town engineer Abigail Charest later explained that DPW has requested streamlined permitting for municipal work in the drafted update of the Chapter 193 Bylaw- Stormwater and Land Disturbance (SWLD). She also reported that DPW has already been implementing town wide procedures for the EPA’s MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) permit program under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for the discharge of stormwater.
This five-year permit, jointly issued by EPA and MassDEP, requires towns to meet six minimum control measures. The stormwater system should be considered an underground road system and Wayland has an estimated 100 miles of stormwater piping, catch basins, drainage ditches and outfalls.
State regulations for the MS4 permit were last modified on Dec. 7, 2020 and approval of the new draft modifications to the Mass DEP small system MS4 permit program was extended to May 21, 2025.
As part of the MS4 permit process, the Conservation Commission reviews and approves Notice of Intent (NOI)s from discharge operators and permittees. Filing a (NOI) initiates the permitting process for any activity that may alter a protected resource area subject to protection under the Wetlands Protection Act (WPA) and, in many cases, the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act.
A NOI ensures environmental safeguards are reviewed and enforced by Mass DEP through the local Conservation Commission. The WPA has seven review criteria: activities in wetland resource areas, stormwater management, erosion and sedimentation control, alteration of 100 foot buffer zone for negative impact, discharge and water quality, wildlife estimated or priority habitat, and lastly cumulative impacts and mitigation.
To maintain their MS4 permits, towns must submit annual reports by May 1 detailing compliance with six minimum control measures:
- Pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations, requiring plans and staff training
- Illicit discharge detection and elimination (IDDE), mandating enforceable prohibitions, mapping of stormwater outfalls and response plans
- Construction site runoff control, including erosion control ordinances and review procedures
- Post-construction runoff Control, requiring enforceable maintenance policies for stormwater systems
- Public education and outreach, encouraging widespread distribution of stormwater education materials
- Public participation and Involvement, ensuring opportunities for community input and adherence to public notice laws.
The board expressed support for endorsing DPW’s final comment letter on the draft Chapter 192 bylaw at a future meeting. The public comment period closes on June 18.
- Wayland stormwater info:
tinyurl.com/wayland-stormwater - Wayland Stormwater management Program:
tinyurl.com/wayland-swmp - EPA stormwater discharge permits:
tinyurl.com/epa-discharges
