Department of Public Works

Changes Coming Soon for Watertown’s Trash/Recycling Pick Up

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Watertown residents will see some changes to their trash, recycling and yard waste pick up starting in early December, with most people seeing small changes but some will have a whole new day of the week to put out their trash and recycling. The changes will begin the week of Dec. 11, and come as a result of the Town starting a new trash and recycling contract. The biggest chance with the new system will be five trash pick up days each week instead of four. The Department of Public Works and the trash/recycling pick up contractor Republic Services unveiled the new system for the Town Council this week.

DPW

Watertown Fire Hydrant Flushing Begins This Week, May Discolor Water

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Watertown’s Department of Public Works will begin flushing fire hydrants this week, and will continue for the next six weeks. Public Works Superintendent Gerald Mee sent out the following announcement:

In order to maintain the high quality of drinking water in Watertown, the annual program of flushing mains will begin during the week of Sept. 18, 2017. Flushing hours are Monday Through Friday 7 p.m. to midnight. Consumers may experience discolored water at times during the weeks of Sept.

DPW

Multi-Year Sewer Repair Projects to Start in Three Areas of Town

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The Department of Public Works will begin a multi-year sewer project in two areas of town with the help of money provided by the MWRA. 

The work begins with investigation of the sewer pipes under the streets using a camera that travels through the system searching for areas where pipes has been damaged, said Dennis Sheehan, the DPW’s Director of Administration and Finance. The pipes will also be cleaned. Cracks and damage can allow sewage out but also allows water into the pipes, which ultimately costs the town more money, Sheehan said. “The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of clean water being diverted to Deer Island and prevent the town paying (the treatment of) ground water infiltrating into the system,” Sheehan said. Next year, the DPW will repair the damages areas found by the cameras this year.

Environment

Town Looking for Ways to Reduce Amount of Water Going into Storm Drains

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The Town of Watertown has multiple incentives to reduce the amount of rain water flowing into storm drains and eventually into the Charles River, including preventing street flooding and reducing the amount of pollution going into the river – which will be part of the new and stricter Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements. The EPA requirements come out in Jul and the town will receive a new permit which will include more stringent requirements to reduce pollution of the river. The Department of Public Works seeks to find ways to prevent rain water from running down streets and driveways into storm drains, and out into the Charles River, because stormwater is a major cause of pollution in the river. Sometimes small storms can be worse for pollution than bigger ones, Shuman said. “We call it the first flush,” Shuman said. “The first quarter inch of rain picks up all the pollutants from the roads and it runs into the storm drains.”

Department of Public Works

See the Road Projects in Watertown that the DPW Will Work on This Year

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Spring is here, which means the start of construction season for road projects. The Department of Public Work has a long list of projects they are working on, and projects they have coming down the road. See if your street or ones in your neighborhood made the list:

2017 Water Main Replacements

The Town’s annual water system improvement program seeks to replace undersized or inadequate water mains to improve water quality, fire flows, water pressure and volume. The following streets are included in this year’s program:
Katherine Road (Church Street to Common Street)
Priest Road
Hazel Street (Quimby Street to Dexter Ave.)
Westland Road, Woodleigh Road, and Edgecliff Road (Hillside Ave. to Woodleigh Road)
Bellevue Ave.

Police/Fire

Volunteers, Community Come Together to Welcome Attendees of Firefighter’s Funeral

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It takes a village, or in this case a town, to put on a funeral for a fallen hero. Work began in the days before the funeral for fallen Watertown Firefighter Joseph Toscano on Wednesday morning. And volunteers, organizations and business owners all chipped in to welcome thousands of firefighters from around the Bay State and across the country to Watertown. They provided food, shelter and – maybe most importantly – restrooms.

Just after dawn on Wednesday, a few canteens set up to provide breakfast, coffee, and later lunch for the many “jakes” who descended on Watertown Square. The Boston Sparks Association, a volunteer group operating out of the Boston Fire Museum, setup about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Government

List of Watertown Streets to be Repaired in 2017 Announced by DPW

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Several streets made the list for road repairs in 2017 presented by Department of Public Works officials and approved by the Town Council’s Public Works Committee. Each year, the town tackles road repairs on multiple streets around town. Watertown devotes $2.5 million to road and sidewalk repairs annually, but the money does not go just to the worst roads. Some on the list are among the most dire need of repair, others can avoid major problems down the line by doing some minor repairs now, said Rick Benevento, president of WorldTech, the town’s consultant for road projects. The DPW uses a pavement management system developed by WorldTech to come up with the list.

DPW

Town Hosting Event to Recycle Styrofoam, Tires and Shred Paper

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The Watertown Department of Public Works will hold a recycling event and paper shredding in May. The event will be on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Watertown Recycle Center on 76 Stanley Ave., Watertown, (off of Waltham Street). The event features:

Paper Shredding

Styrofoam collection

Tires – NO RIMS

This event is open to Watertown residents.