­­­AGAWAM –  The Baker Administration recently distributed a new round of Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program (MVP) Action Grants to communities across the commonwealth, including to the town of Agawam.

Agawam Mayor William Sapelli and Director of Planning and Community Development Marc Strange explained the grant for $216,750 will be used specifically to cover the cost of creating the stormwater master plan. Stormwater is defined by the town’s website as pure rain or snowfall, plus anything it carries along with it. This water, which picks up man-made pollution along the way, ultimately flows into drains and catch basins across town. Stormwater pollutants can include litter, animal waste, oil, grease, runoff from construction sites, fertilizers and pesticides.

Strange explained a couple of years ago, the requirements needed to be issued an MS4 permit changed at the federal level. The MS4 permit, according to mass.gov, is a five-year permit issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for municipal sewer systems. To qualify for the permit, municipalities must meet certain criteria. This, Strange said, was what was updated several years ago.

These updates, Sapelli said, were “a good thing” for the environment and to try to reduce pollution in stormwater, however they were also “very costly.” He cited examples of required actions for the permit, such as street sweeping twice a year and emptying catch basins across town two times a year. However, he said, “Like many of these regulations, they didn’t regulate funding for it.”

When Agawam was working toward getting their initial MS4 permit, Strange said they “realized how much need in town there is for updates on culverts and catch basins.” This, he said, was due to “a lot of impervious surfaces in Agawam,” which “creates more runoff and flooding.” Some of these issues, he said, came up again when they were going through a planning process prior to applying for the grant. Strange said “culvert replacements and culvert updates” came up again and “were mentioned pretty predominantly.”

Strange said this was taken into account when the Stormwater Master Plan was created. The plan, he explained, has three different components. The first component of the taste plan, Strange said, “is evaluating the needs for improving the infrastructure.”

This includes “ways to improve green spaces, [which] will help with runoff and stormwater management.” This, he said, “will especially take a look at inspection culverts [and] basin drains.”

The second part of the plan includes updating the town’s municipal code for resiliency. This, Strange said, would be done by specifically looking at sub division and zone regulations, and “updating those to incorporate low impact development [and] green development.” Additionally, it would add a stormwater bylaw to the town’s code.

The third part of the plan, Strange said, included a community engagement project. The project, a 10-day residency run by the Enchanted Circle Theater and the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, would take place at the Doering Middle School. The topic of the residency, he explained, will be “where does water go?”

Strange said, “Students will have the opportunity to create a video and [will be] doing some artwork, which will be displayed at an Earth Day event in 2021.”

Sapelli said, “education of all levels” was the most important and easiest way to help the public and Agawam residents learn what happens to stormwater and where it ends up, which he said was “in rivers and streams.”

Sapelli added that the grant was really “a drop in the bucket when you look at what the costs are” to maintain and make updates to the stormwater sewer system in town. Such costs include repairing outfalls in town and sweeping streets, something he said was incredibly expensive. “We have to identify and label outfalls and rate them, and repair the ones most in need and that is very, very costly,” he said. This included a culvert on Reed Street that failed in 2018. Sapelli said the project was likely “going to be close to $1 million before it’s done.”

He added that a benefit of the town now having a master plan was that they were more likely to be considered for grants because they were prepared. “We move up on the list because we are organized and we have something prepared,” he said.

Additionally, Strange said the master plan served as a plan for future MVP grants. “Another advantage of the plan is we now have a plan for future MVP grants. Once we go through the plan, we can prioritize culverts or catch basins,” he said. “We can ID which need to be replaced.”

While the grant paid for a significant portion of the master plan, Sapelli said there was no way to know how much it would cost to make all the updates needed as it was “a moving target.” He gave the example of a culvert on South Westfield Street. He explained while crews had been inspecting, they noticed the culvert “was ready to cave in [and] it had to all be replaced.”

“So that was not something that we knew about. That’s how it happens, issues we’re not aware of,” he said. “That’s why a lot of communities have these plans for emergencies, many of these things are unexpected.”

Sapelli said many communities in the area had a stormwater fee, but at this time, Agawam did not. He noted this may be a possibility in the future, but they were in the process of putting “some numbers together to plan.” He said, “Moving forward we’re not going to be able to sustain this in the budget.”

Strange said the town was currently in the contracting phase of the project. “So we have signed a contract with the state, [and are] working with consultants working out the details,” he said. Strange added that they are hoping to start projects some time in October.

Sapelli and Strange also recognized all those involved in the creation and eventual implementation of the stormwater master plan. Such individuals include Michael Albro, the town’s assistant engineer, and Tracy DeMaio, who serves as the town’s solid waste and stormwater coordinator.