ATHOL — Whether it was the return of the beavers, or the deluge unleashed by Mother Nature, the intersection at South Athol Road at Tunnel, Hapgood and Sanders streets was under water for some time Wednesday night.
The nearly 6 inches of water covering the intersection made for tricky travel, and some vehicles avoided the underpass on Tunnel Street altogether, opting to drive up Hapgood to higher ground on Cottage Street to get to Main Street.
“We had 3 to 4 inches of rain in a very short period of time,” said Assistant Highway Superintendent Dick Kilhart, “There was water everywhere.” He said it is believed the beaver problem under the intersection has been resolved, as the trapper hired by the town removed the animals.
He said DPW crews responded to numerous washouts around town, including a resident’s banking that had washed out into the roadway on Radcliff Street.
“In certain areas of the community last night we got deluged with lots of water. Sometimes the drainage structures we have just can’t take it,” said Kilhart, “Extreme weather is here to stay and unfortunately it’s hit or miss. Some areas didn’t get any.”
Areas with severe washouts included the Lindsey Lane, Marshall and Pleasant Street areas. “The old Sanders Street School had standing water,” he said.
He said along South Main Street (Route 2A), the state had to deal with washes where water ran off the hills.
“We are not accustomed to 3 inches of rain in a hour,” said Kilhart, “It’s a lot for our drainage system to handle.” These extreme weather events will likely become more commonplace as climate change occurs, officials say, and Massachusetts has a division to provide literature to communities to address stormwater management.
Kilhart said, “Long term looking forward, building designs will change. Stormwater management is the next hot button for trying to handle, observe and manage the water — where are we going to put all this?”
He noted that the town’s water treatment plant is designed “capacity-wise” to take extreme storms. “Since the plant upgrade eight years ago, the town has spent a great deal of money, through the water and sewer enterprise accounts, and also lined sewer mains trying to prevent infiltration of the old clay lines,” he said, “but there is still more to do. The town does a little bit of work each year. We still have the Pleasant Street sewer main to address.”
For 100 years, the water from the drainage pipes has gone to the river. There is a new rule designed to keep stormwater within a community. “Not to Millers River, to the Connecticut River, to the Long Island Sound. The regulatory folks want you to keep your stormwater in your area.” said Kilhart.
The Athol Highway Department’s crew, and the Cemetery and Parks division were called out for washouts, removing debris off roads, and re-sweeping surfaces.
“We’ve been quite busy the last three or four weeks,” said Kilhart, “and a lot of it comes after normal business hours. (Wednesday night) the guys came in at 6 p.m. for tree work.”
A retention pond on West Orange Road, where a solar field is being construction, let go, and Orchard Brook Road was completely covered with water. Kilhart said Route 63 in Erving was also under water for a time.
“Millers River right now is like spring runoff,” he said.
In between major storms, the highway crew is busy with tree trimming, roadside mowing, spraying for weed control, and regular maintenance of the towns roads, cemeteries and parks.
The cemetery division has a bucket truck used to respond to immediate customer concerns.
“We get a call, do a work order, and regularly go out for customer concerns,” said Kilhart,” We really try to get out there, but people have to speak out to let us know of their concerns.”
He said the roadside trimming “Might look ugly at first, but we have to have the visibility. It’s a safety issue. We’ve been able to do quite a bit of that.” He said the department has a list of tree limbs that has to be taken care of. “We get to them as soon as we can.”
He said the highway, water, cemetery and parks divisions are now fully staffed, numbering 24 employees. A couple of the employees are licensed applicators for the weed control spraying. The town has a truck set up to do just spraying, and were working near the library the other day.
He has established a schedule for roadside mowing and spraying, but “priorities change” he said, noting there was a major water main break on Lindsey Avenue the other night that cut into the budget. “It’s challenging,” he said. “Sometimes we have to respond to emergencies. We have a good crew, and they respond quickly. We really try to keep at it” although, Mother Nature’s “to do” list usually comes first.