Pembroke Ramps Up Water Quality Efforts, Debates Historic Commission Appointment
Town plans aggressive infrastructure replacement, aims to reduce brown water incidents
PEMBROKE, MA - October 16 - Pembroke officials are intensifying efforts to improve water quality throughout the town, with plans to replace five miles of water infrastructure in the coming year. The aggressive approach aims to address longstanding issues with brown water while maintaining Pembroke's status as one of the highest quality water producers in the state.
Town Manager Bill Chenard outlined the water improvement strategy during the Oct. 16 Select Board meeting, emphasizing the town's commitment to enhancing water quality despite financial constraints.
"We are investing in our water system properly. We have a capital plan. We're doing a master planning process. We are improving those waters. We're making the water safer in town and better quality in town," Chenard said.
The town currently has over $91 million in capital planning for water improvements over the next several years. Chenard explained that while residents have complained about brown water, Pembroke still boasts one of the highest quality water supplies in Massachusetts.
"We're one of the highest quality water producers in the state," Chenard stated, noting that Pembroke rarely experiences issues such as E. coli contamination or the need for wintertime flushing.
To address brown water concerns, the town has implemented twice-yearly directional flushing and is developing an online reporting system for residents to report water quality issues outside of flushing periods.
"As soon as we're done flushing, it'll be live and people can report it," Chenard said, adding that the system will help the town collect data and identify trends.
The water master plan, expected to be completed within the next year, will provide a comprehensive roadmap for future improvements. Chenard emphasized that the plan will be similar in format to the road management capital improvement plan, including timelines, targeted areas, and associated costs.
In other business, the Select Board's appointment process for the Historic District Commission sparked debate over the balance between expertise and community involvement in local governance.
Despite the commission's recommendation to appoint Allison Glenn to a vacancy, the board voted to appoint Chris Perry instead, citing his extensive experience in historical home restoration.
"I think that the reasons that they enjoyed and would like Chris made more sense for the position than the alternate," said Select Board Chair Tracy Marino.
Board member Steve Ciciotti supported the decision, stating, "If we have opportunities to appoint subject matter experts, and they are looking to be appointed to a relevant commission, we should definitely take the vote into consideration, especially if it's unanimous one way or the other. But we are the appointing authority."
Perry, a 30-year Pembroke resident, highlighted his background in restoring historical homes and his familiarity with policy and procedure guidelines.
"During that time, we have restored numerous historical homes. I have learned how to identify historical values and things like that of what each home offers," Perry told the board.
The board ultimately voted to appoint Perry to the vacancy, with Glenn as the first alternate and Rich Malloy as the second alternate.
The decision prompted some concern from board member John Brown about overriding the commission's recommendation.
"My only concern is, even though I said we oversee these appointment process, it seems like we're stepping over the historic district commission's autonomy," Brown said.
As the meeting concluded, officials also discussed plans for a new town hall lawn sign, with hopes to install it before the ground freezes this fall.
The next Select Board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. and will include a public hearing on the fiscal year 2025 tax classification.