MERRIMAC — Selectmen listened to the pros and cons of a proposed cistern system to be used in dispensing water during firefighting at their meeting Monday night.
Acting DPW director John Riordan presented the pros; fire Chief Ralph Spencer, with the support of Deputy Chiefs Larry Fisher and Gregory Habgood, presented the cons.
Riordan had proposed, during a September selectmen's meeting, the use of fire cisterns and booster pumps as a cost-effective and acceptable solution of delivering a portable water source to fight fires. This alternative to replacing the town's water mains would address "fire flow" concerns raised by the Department of Environmental Protection, Riordan had told selectmen.
Riordan again reiterated that cisterns have the potential to provide a resource for "reasonable quantities" of fire flow, providing a benefit to the community while being cognizant of the town's financial realities.
However, Selectman Carol Traynor said selectmen recently learned that the town's board of engineers has "a huge problem" with cisterns. "This is a revelation to us," she said. Traynor added that the purpose of the evening's cistern discussion was to "hash out" the issue and come up with common ground.
Spencer said that his department is "dead set against" a cistern system. "Who is going to maintain them if they start leaking, who is going to own them, who is going to take care of the problems if they crack, who is going to refill them if they are used, who is going to pay for the water?" he questioned. He also voiced concern for the cistern's fire flow efficacy.
Riordan told selectmen that the cisterns should last "a good long time."
Baumgardner, not satisfied with this nebulous lifespan, pressed Riordan to be more specific.
"I would predict 30 to 50 years easily," Riordan said, excepting any corrosive materials that could potentially shorten this lifespan but which Riordan does not anticipate. He explained that as long as the concrete cisterns are properly constructed and embedded, these structures should last. He added that concrete material, when submerged in water, further preserves its longevity.
The cistern discussion flowed to a proposed subdivision on Middle Road. A sprinkler system has been included in the design.
"If you don't put in a fire cistern ... you're talking about a major upgrade," Riordan told selectmen, "which would be impractical and not make cost-effective sense."
Fisher said that a standalone hydrant system that pulls water from the Merrimack River negates the need for a cistern on Middle Road. "There is no need to have a cistern system there," he told selectmen.
Habgood said that he is generally opposed to a cistern system, especially for Middle Road, because the department has an existing system in place.
Riordan considered the fire chief's and deputy fire chiefs' input and agreed that the town should "take every advantage of bodies of water like the Merrimack and Lake Attitash" instead of installing cisterns in the accessible areas.
However, Riordan maintained that the installation of cisterns is a good option for areas of town where pumping from the river or lake is not feasible.
Traynor asked Spencer whether, apart from Middle Road, a cistern system would enhance his department's firefighting ability. Spencer said that the department's current tanker shuttle system works very well and he said that the delivery of fire flow is fast.
A recent drill corroborated the validity of this design, Fisher added.
"I don't want to spend good money on something that doesn't work and eventually have to do the main lines anyway," Traynor said. "It seems like you have a system of fighting fire quite under hand now with the tankers in place."
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