ENMAN ENGINEERING
Since 1982

CIVIL ENGINEERING
SANITARY ENGINEERING
ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING
VT LICENSED DESIGNERS
VT SITE TECHNICIANS

802 775-3437
61 PROSPECT ST
RUTLAND, VT 05701

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS

Institutional Case Studies

Mettawee Community School

Mettawee Community School In 1996 the Towns of Pawlet and Rupert had a combined four one room school houses, one located in each of the two primary villages within each town. All four school houses had contaminated potable water and were on a a "do not drink the water" order from the State of Vermont. The time for change had come and the two towns decided to team together to solve their woes.

Enman Engineering, P.C. along with Black River Design Architects, Montpelier, worked to identify sites where land was available and where municipal water and wastewater services might serve the school so as to avoid the need for costly onsite water and wastewater. In only the Village of West Pawlet was municipal sewer available and the existing school in West Pawlet already had a contaminated water.

After studying numerous sites, the two school boards agreed to focus their efforts on a property located near the Mettawee River on Route 153 near the intersection with Rt 30. The property was predominantly old meadow, a former farmstead. The land was relatively flat, cresting near the road, draining to the west to the Mettawee River and to the east to state protected wetlands.

Because Act 250 only applies to municipal projects in excess of 10 acres, the project was conceived so as to avoid Vermont's Land Use Law. This reduced the state permit jurisdiction to that of potable water and wastewater.

Wastewater disposal was the first to be addressed. Shallow depth to seasonal high water table dictated a springtime monitoring program and because the capacity of the wastewater system was 5,000 gpd, a hydro-geologic study was required. After successfully completing the springtime monitoring program, Heindel and Noyes conducted the hydro-geologic evaluations and Enman Engineering set forth to design the wastewater disposal system.

Use of a advanced wastewater treatment was prohibited in Vermont in 1995, that is except for school expansions. And no one in Vermont had used the program, so Mettawee was to be the first. After over two years in the making, in the spring of 1998, the State of Vermont granted a permit for THE FIRST AT-GRADE SYSTEM WITH ADVANCED TREATMENT IN THE STATE OF VERMONT.

After wastewater, water supply was next. The school district drilled a well for potable water supply, however, the color of the water was near that of black coffee and the odor strong of sulphur. Two additional wells were drilled in hopes of alleviating the problem, and in both instances the results were the same. Consequently, all three wells were pumped for 24 hours per day for nearly 6 months to flush the wells of sediment and objectionable taste and odor.

Finally, two of the three wells were pump tested to determine long term yield and Enman Engineering, P,C. embarked on design of a water treatment system. The wells, in addition to having high turbidity and odor, were also subject to high iron oxidizing bacteria. The wells, located within the minimum distance to surface waters, passed the micro-particulate analysis tests.

Today the school is providing education to the students of the towns of Pawlet and Rupert, and the environmental treatment systems are in place, treating sanitary wastewater and potable drinking water for the public's health, safety and welfare.

The school district has received notification of excess levels of arsenic in the water system. In the spring of 2004 water treatment for arsenic removal will commence with construction anticipated prior to the start of school in the fall of 2004.