Water & Sewer Department Director Eric Carty (center) poses with staff members. PHOTO/TOWN OF HOPKINTON
Eric Carty never dreamed that a summer job after graduating from high school would lead to a successful career with his hometown’s Water & Sewer Department over the past four decades. In a recent interview with the Independent, Carty shared that one of the most important lessons he has learned on the job is “to go with the flow.”
Carty, who is retiring this fall, reflected on how he has revolutionized the department to accommodate the town’s growing population. He also talked about the proposed connection to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority as the town looks at its future water needs.
One aspect of his job Carty said many people don’t realize is that the demands change daily. During the interview, he had to address a water main issue and a power outage.
“It’s not a 9-to-5 job,” he explained. “It’s a 365-day-a-year job at all hours. Whether I’m sick, on vacation or out of the country, I’m remotely checking tank levels and sewer stations just to make sure everything’s running smoothly.
“We are 80-90% reactive,” continued Carty. “With all the construction going on, we have to drop our plans when a contractor discovers something.”
Summer job to department director
Carty said he originally took the summer job so he could earn money before beginning his studies at the former Central New England College in Worcester. He continued working at the Water Department part-time as a commuting student.
“I was the meter reader,” he said with a laugh. “Back then you had to walk to every single house in town. I did that throughout college.”
Armed with a business degree, Carty sought a job just as the economic recession hit. It culminated with the first Black Thursday stock market crash in October 1987. This made Carty examine his future goals.
“It was probably not a good time to go into the business field,” he recalled thinking. “So I figured I’d stay here for a little while.”
That “little while” turned into 36 years. Carty said he has held every role in the department except foreman.
Said Carty: “I went right from equipment manager to manager.”
There were only three wells in town when he started, he added. At that time, a fire truck had to pump water out of a well into the system during a water shortage.
Innovation brought to department
Carty noted that the late Hank Fredette, one of his first bosses, “gave me a lot of freedom.” Because of his business and technology background, Carty was able to utilize computers to help the town. He created the town’s first website and was the first employee to work remotely decades before the pandemic made it the norm.
“I’m not a big self promoter,” he said when asked about his accomplishments. “It doesn’t go with the job.”
Another first for Carty was his documentation of the town’s fire hydrants into a spreadsheet system. In addition, he compiled where water main shut-offs were in the event of an emergency.
In the early days, Carty explained that it could take an entire day to fix a water leak. With current technology, that has been cut in half.
In the past, the Fruit Street wells had to be shut off during a water main break on Wood Street because of the one-way water flow, added Carty. He developed a looping system that alleviated that problem.
“I’ve always enjoyed it,” he said of his work. “One of the reasons is because the staff is so great. The core group has been here over 20 years, and we have the best team chemistry. I can’t say enough about the men and women who work here.
“People don’t understand how the system runs because it’s an underground thing,” Carty continued. “There’s so much that goes into it, and so many emergencies that we’ve averted.”
Carty’s hope is that more young people will join the industry as trade schools gain popularity.
Recent challenges need new solutions
“Unfortunately, the town has just outpaced all of the work we’ve done because of the growth rate,” Carty said.
When Carty first started working full-time at the Water Department, the town’s population was around 6,000 and was supported by five wells. Now that population number has more than tripled, with eight wells online that are strained.
“Of course, I’m biased,” he said. “But water is our most precious resource, as you can see with the issues we have.”
He noted that the Department of Public Works was established in 1999. With that decision, the water and sewer departments were combined under the DPW umbrella and his direction.
Said Carty: “With Y2K, we were up all night because we weren’t sure if our electronic pumps would stay running.”
When Ashland’s water treatment plant came online in 2000, Hopkinton was able to purchase water from that town. With today’s current water supply issues, the Water & Sewer Advisory Board has discussed potentially buying more water from Ashland.
The biggest issues for Carty are the potential MWRA connection and the water supply and quality.
“Unfortunately, the wells are deteriorating,” he said. “And they’re pumping a lot more.”
The MWRA connection is proposed to go through Southborough’s system if an intermunicipal agreement is reached. Some have criticized the need for an MWRA connection because of its cost and the time it would take to implement it.
“We need to make a decision,” said Carty. “Unfortunately, we are so far behind right now. We are four to five years out, and we’re already having trouble with our water supply. We’re going to have to try to rehabilitate some of the sources we have, and we won’t be gaining anything.”
A group of chemicals known as PFAS has surfaced as a water quality issue over the past few years. The town activated a water filtration system at Well 6 last year to treat PFAS contamination issues.
Droughts and brush fires have been additional challenges, Carty added. Also, when there is flooding, water runs mostly into streams and lakes rather than recharging into the groundwater. Rain also taxes the sewer system, while hard ground in the winter and spring prevented snow from being absorbed.
As he prepares to retire, he shared one piece of advice for his successor.
Said Carty: “Treat your employees well, because nothing gets done without them.”
He also gave a shout-out to the residents for their longtime support.
“Sometimes we’ll be working on a water main break and people will bring us coffee and snacks,” said Carty. “It means a lot.”
Much appreciation to Eric Carty for keeping the water running through all the challenges of recent times and past decades. Thank you the many years of water reports and for being so informative about the PFAS issue.