9.27.2021 Fall River City Council Committee on Health & Environmental Affairs

The Fall River City Council Committee on Health and Environmental Affairs met on September 27, 2021, to address municipal waste collection practices and concerns surrounding water quality, watershed management, and fire safety. The meeting opened with citizen input via a letter from Watuppa Water Board Commissioner Robert Pearson, who raised alarms regarding severely degraded roadways, deep potholes, and overgrown fire lanes within the Fall River Reservation that could impede emergency response vehicles during a wildfire. Following the approval of previous meeting minutes, Community Maintenance Director John Perry addressed a viral video showing EZ Disposal workers co-mingling yard waste and recyclable materials into the same collection truck. Perry confirmed that the contractor terminated two employees and suspended another for these violations, while reassuring the committee that the city's one-year contract with ABC Disposal at $85 per ton includes no contamination price escalators.

The committee then turned to a September 14, 2021, resolution concerning water quality and watershed safety. Administrator of Community Utilities Paul Ferland, Watuppa Water Board President Jim Monteiro, and Reservation Forester Mike Labossiere assured councilors that Fall River's finished drinking water is of exceptional quality, with no Department of Environmental Protection violations in over five years. Monteiro and Labossiere explained that downed trees are left intentionally under modern morticulture practices to promote biodiversity and prevent soil erosion and siltation from log skidding, noting that fire suppression ponds, wide fire breaks, and the Copicut Hill fire tower staffed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation provide robust fire defense.

During the water quality discussion, Ferland highlighted an urgent operational crisis at the water treatment plant, explaining that the city was losing two state-licensed T3 operators—including a 15-year veteran—to higher-paying surrounding communities, leaving only one licensed operator across four shifts. Ferland warned that unresolved municipal water rates and the resulting unfunded enterprise fund budget threaten the plant's continuous, mandated operations and overall employee morale.

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