The Newmarket NH Tucker Well Project consisted of HAWSCO providing and installing a 40 HP 40VAC Submersible Turbine Well Pump complete with Casing Extension, Pitless Adapter and all accessories, providing and installing 7200 Linear Feet of 10” HDPE Water Main with all Hydrants and Gate Valves as required, all required Site Work and restoration for the Water Main installation as well as Drainage and Access Road installation to and from the Well, installation of the Town’s repurposed Generator with LP Tank and accessories, New 480 VAC Electric Service and Poles from the Road to the Station, as well as the Pump Station Building that houses all of the Electrical, Controls and Instrumentation and HVAC Systems complete.
East Road Booster Pump Station HAWSCO is actively engaged with the Southern NH Regional Water Project (SNHRWP) and, as part of the overall project, completed the construction of this booster station in Plaistow, NH. The East Rd Booster station supplies water from the SNHRWP pipeline to the Town of Plaistow at a rate of up to 500 GPM filling the newly constructed 400,000 Gallon Water Tank on Sweet Hill Rd. HAWSCO constructed the Booster Station facility complete from the ground up including but not limited to site work, building construction, installation of the 2 Booster Pumps, all related piping, valves, instrumentation, sampling equipment and electrical control panels for the Town of Plaistow. There are two 20 HP Domestic Water Pumps that deliver 500 GPM each at 95’ TDH through 12” Ductile Iron Mains. This station is designed to automatically maintain programmed level setpoints in the Sweet Hill Water Tank with variable flows of 0-500 GPM through VFD’S and a SCADA Control System with a local SCADA control panel with a Touchscreen Operator Interface and remote SCADA PC’s with a fully programmable control system and alarm call out system.
P3 – Plaistow NH Sweet Hill Tank Furnish and install a new 400,000 gallon Water Storage Tank Project complete with Valve Vault Building, connection to 12” Water Main, HVAC and Electrical Controls, Paving, Fencing and Site Restoration.
Amidst a global pandemic in 2020, HAWSCO mechanically installed the 5 Booster Pumps, all related piping, valves, instrumentation, and control panel for the Bedford Assisted Living Facility Bowman Place.
As part of the overall Southern NH Regional Water Project (SNHRWP) HAWSCO completed the construction of this 3,200 gallons per minute pumping station in Derry, NH.
The Rockingham Road Booster Pumping facility is an integral component of the Southern New Hampshire Regional Water Interconnection Project, and with upgrades will now support the introduction of water to Salem’s, HAWC and ultimately the Plaistow water system.
The Atkinson Water Tank is a major component of the Southern New Hampshire Regional Water Interconnection Project, storing 1 million gallons of potable water for the Hampstead Area Water Company, Inc.’s (HAWC) core water system.
The Westside Drive Water Treatment facility is a major component of the Southern New Hampshire Regional Water Interconnection Project, connecting water from Salem to Atkinson, Hampstead, and eventually Plaistow. As part of the connection, chloraminated water from the town of Salem will be introduced into the Hampstead Area Water Company, Inc.’s (HAWC) core water system. Treatment at this facility makes the water supplied by Salem compatible with HAWC’s existing water supplies. This facility will convert the existing type of disinfection (chlorine) to monochloramine within its existing water treatment process.
Clean drinking water is often something we take for granted. When we fill our coffee makers in the morning, when we ask for a water at the local eatery, or when we rinse after brushing our teeth, we trust that the water we consume is safe. This security doesn’t come easily. Behind the scenes service companies such as Hampstead Area Water Services Co (HAWSCO) are continuously monitoring water supplies.Certified water operators are required by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services to provide routine monitoring, testing, and sampling of well water supplies for communities and organizations to name a few. Add up a number of businesses, homes, developments, and organizations that use well water and it’s easy to see that this is a large task spread out over a large area.THE PROBLEM:Routine maintenance inspections were reported on paper for each water station, meter readings calculated manually by the operator who relied on previous written reports data.Reports were then brought back to the office, manually entered into an excel file, and brought back to the water station for the next succession of reporting.This redundant process was not only cumbersome but lacked any user validation or timeliness.THE GOAL:Develop a custom app that would automate calculations, populate real-time data to a central database, and provide administrators instant access to the reports.THE SOLUTION:The HAWSCO team utilized a new web-based coding tool known as Appsheet to develop a custom app that works on the water operators' iPads. The app integrates with online databases to produce real-time data for all of the water systems. In addition, the app sends reports by email to Charlie when they are submitted by the water operators performing the maintenance inspections. In addition, the sharing capabilities of the app allows other office personnel to access the database for additional billing and reporting to NHDES.ICING ON THE CAKE:HAWSCO started using the app and realized that the Ipads combined with the new app could also be used to instantly submit photos of potential issues to the manager allowing for pre-emptive maintenance versus reactive maintenance.WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTING THIS NEW SYSTEM?As with implementing most process changes involving technology there is always a learning curve… Both with the users, the creators of the system, and the hardware running the system. We’ve experienced a few bugs and other hiccups, but overall the application has provided numerous benefits.HOW HAS THE APP CHANGED THE WAY YOU DO BUSINESS?To give some background, the way we used to perform station maintenance reports at our water system facilities included handwriting onto paper reports that were left in binders at the stations. These binders were subject to moisture, chemicals, etc. and did not fare well. We then had to periodically bring the paperwork to the office to be scanned, entered, etc. and then brought back to the facility binders. With the new system, our water operators utilize iPads to type in their reports which then automatically update to the office in a spreadsheet and also in graphical form that all employees can easily access anywhere with an internet connection.WHERE DO YOU SEE THIS APP GOING NEXT?One of the avenues we plan to utilize this system is within our contracted services division, HAWSCO. We plan on providing customer portals on the www.nhwaterservices.com website where the customers can log in and have up to date reports regarding their facilities. We also anticipate generating custom reports in the future.WHAT WERE SOME UNEXPECTED BENEFITS TO USING THIS NEW APP?One of the greatest benefits has been the ability to deploy updated maintenance sheets real time rather than printing paper copies and having the operators bring them to the individual facilities. We’ve also found unique ways to incorporate new reports that we previously would hand write as well.For more information on water operations in NH, certified water operators in NH, or the app utilized by Hampstead Area Water Services Co. to report on community water systems data, visit www.nhwaterservices.com, call 603-362-5333, or email us at operations@hampsteadwater.com.
The current drought situation in southern New Hampshire has brought on a wave of questions regarding appropriate water use, consumption, and supply. Here at HAWSCO, we're often asked the question, "How's my water supply looking?" Several inquiries have also been submitted asking "why?" or "why hasn't?" a water ban has been issued. In this post, we'll lay out some of the underlying factors that hopefully provide answers to these types of questions. We'll do our best to keep things simple, but if you have specific questions, don't hesitate to contact us. First things first, let's review the types of water systems:If you live in New Hampshire, you're most likely on your own private well, a community water system, or a municipal water system which may operate on wells or draw from a water reservoir such as Lake Massabesic for the City of Manchester. These systems all have differences even when they are of the same type.One big misconceptionA common misconception is that we all draw water from the same giant underground pool of water. The reality is that underground water fills pores and cracks in, around, and between sand, silt, gravel, and bedrock. Your water supply might come from one deep crack in the bedrock while your neighbor's from a shallow gathering of water-soaked sand and gravel. You could run your well dry and your neighbor's well might not even flinch because their well draws from different pores and cracks. The diagram below explains how the various water systems work and where the water comes from:Diagram depicting various types of water systems and the underground sources of water(click diagram to enlarge).Private wellsA private well, much like the artesian/drilled one that my family relies on, only services my house and therefore is my responsibility for maintenance and repairs. My well was drilled down 240 ft into a water-bearing bedrock fracture yielding 60 gallons-per-minute of water.Click diagram to enlargeMy well pump is located 140 ft down into the well. The static water level (water table) was initially recorded at 10 ft below ground surface, meaning I should have 130 ft of "available" water draw-down before the well runs dry and needs to recover. At 60 gallons-per-minute though, I might expect the well to recover rather quickly.When my house was built, long before my family moved in, the well driller determined these specifics. The well was drilled to 240 ft because there is likely a water-bearing fracture in the bedrock located near that distance below ground. In NH, most wells installed after 1984 have these details recorded at: http://www2.des.state.nh.us/DESOnestop/BasicSearch.aspxMy neighbors on each side have wells spanning 200 ft to 400 ft with between 2 and 8 gallons-per-minute of supply. They need to be a little more cautious drawing water down too quickly since their water-bearing fractures do not yield much water.Not all private wells are artesian or drilled. Some are dug wells and some are sand & gravel wells. A dug well might be more prone to dry out during a drought mainly because they are so shallow. A dug well at 15 feet below ground only has a few feet of available water draw-down before it reaches the pump level.A sand & gravel well located in a stratified drift aquifer might be just as shallow, but has such a strong yield (gallons-per-minute of water supply) that it is constantly replenishing despite usage.Stratified Drift Aquifers Southern NHSource: http://granitviewii.unh.edu/(click map to enlarge)While homeowners with private wells typically have the freedom to use or conserve water at their own discretion, it is wise to follow the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services' recommendations especially in times of drought. It is also important to recognize that the town can still enforce watering bans on you even if you own a private well. Community/Association Water SystemsIf you live in a condo or homeowner's association outside of the main metro areas, it is likely that your water comes from a community water system. While they are all different, these systems usually consist of one or several wells connected to a water storage tank and pump house (360 photo shown above). The pump house might contain various meters, booster pumps, filters, and treatments to provide safe drinking water to the entire association or community. These water systems have state requirements that Certified Water Operators monitor the water supply 24/7. You can learn more about this at HAWSCO's website www.nhwaterservices.com . If you are concerned about drought conditions affecting your community water system, it might ease your worries to know that certified water operators are analyzing usage data with historical data and forecasts to determine if water supply is a concern.Public Water UtilityA public water utility system sometimes referred to as "town or municipal water" is typically drawn from a water reservoir, but might also contain wells. The water is treated at a much larger facility than a community water system pump station. While the water utility will monitor reservoir levels, storage tanks, and reservoir sources to determine if a water restriction is needed the decision might be influenced by government officials and bureaus who regulate the water utility. So, to answer the big question, "What's My Risk of Running Out of Water in a Drought?"It really depends on all of the above factors (and a few more that would make this post longer than it already is). Hopefully, you can use the information in this post and the details of your specific well provided at: http://www2.des.state.nh.us/DESOnestop/BasicSearch.aspx to determine if you should be concerned during a prolonged extreme drought.In summary, if your neighbor's well run's dry, or if they are excessively watering their lawn, consider the differences they might have in their well or water system before making judgments or accusing them of using up all of the water in the neighborhood. With that in mind, let's not forget that water conservation/waste in general, might have an effect on our children's future. www.nhwaterservices.com facebook.com/nhwaterservices Hampstead Area Water Services Co.
