Environmental Activists and members of Who Decides, Russell Hobbs and Gregg Smith, have been monitoring the conditions of our watershed, water treatment, and distribution system for years.
This past year, Gregg Smith, also of Saving Cape Ann, has produced several episodes on the condition and upgrades to the Babson Water Treatment Plant. Gregg's shows have aired on CAPE ANN TV, recieving rave reviews from the community.
Go behind the scenes as Russell Hobbs interviews Mike Hale, DPW
Director, and Larry Durkin, the new Water Engineer, as they tour the Plant asking the questions you would ask. Since the visits, we have been actively monitoring and able to answer a few questions. For instance is our water bad? See answers below.
Citizens of Who
Decides are greatful to Mike Hale and his staff. He has managed to pull off the
impossible. Still, we have a long way to go. We hope that you find the videos (to the left) informative and interesting enough to seek more. Over the upcoming months, we invite you to follow the process with us. Lets us know what you think... Visit us on Facebook Page Sign our Public Guestbook
What have we learned? ...
Is Gloucester water bad?
Gloucester water, at its source is
very good. Our water distribution system
and infrastructure in some parts of the city have deteriorated to the point of
failure because of neglect.
Status of our
water system?
Over the past sixteen years, our water
was managed by Woodard and Curran, and then United Water.
The city of Gloucester is suing United Water for not
meeting the obligations of their contract.
Recently, the city complied with
state mandates and repaired after the boil water crisis and upgraded our Babson Water Treatment Plant. The Babson plant is now computerized, and is greatly
enhancing our ability to monitor and treat our water. Under the direction of DPW Director, Mike Hale, and Environmental
Engineer Larry Durkin, a two year project was completed in less than six
months.
Despite this work,our distribution system is antiquated
and replacing our water pipe infrastructure is our largest unavoidable
hurdle. Suez and Veolia are two of the largest
corporations privatizing municipal water resources. Veolia is under contract to manage our water and our
waste water treatment plants for the next five years. Suez
has offered to purchase our water supply, Mayor Kirk has refused.
