During Worcester’s 2016 drought Framingham company forced multiple shutdowns of reservoir while working at Worcester Regional Airport.
One of Worcester’s water supply reservoirs was forced to shut down multiple times after a Framingham company violations of wetlands protection and water quality while performing construction work at Worcester Regional Airport, according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
That company now must repay a $167,500 fine.
White Contracting Company began work at the airport in September 2016.
Portions of the site where the company worked were located in Leicester, within the watershed of drinking water supplies utilized by the city of Worcester, according to a statement from MassDEP.
White Contracting Co. was awarded the contract for improvements at the airport.
White failed to follow the approved plans and to implement effective erosion and sedimentation controls from September 2016 to May 2017, the statement said.
It resulted in about eight acres of unauthorized alterations to Bordering Vegetated Wetlands and forced the shut down of one of Worcester’s water supply reservoirs on several occasions because of elevated turbidity in the water.
The company is also required to monitor discharges when it rains more than a half-inch to make sure that turbid discharges do not continue to affect downstream wetland resources and the reservoir.
White’s actions over a prolonged period of time caused significant damage to wetland resource areas and affected the City of Worcester’s water supply reservoir," said Mary Jude Pigsley, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester.