Feeney: Medfield DPW Prepped for Hurricane Irene

The Medfield Department of Public Works, and are ready to act in the event of emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Irene, according to a statement on the town website. 

DPW Superintendent Ken Feeney said the department is ready and that they've followed typical protocol when preparing for a potential hurricane. 

"It’s pretty routine for us, we’ve done this before," Feeney said. "We’ll make sure the chainsaws and everything is tuned up and ready."

Feeney said the DPW will check the water wells to make sure generators are working in case power is lost and that propane tanks are full.

"[We will do] the same with the sewer stations but they have natural gas so that's a little bit better," Feeney said.

If the town loses power, Feeney said the DPW will make sure everything is working properly.

"We do have a system to monitor all of our wells and sewer stations and the sewage treatment plant itself," Feeney said. 

Problem areas the town will monitor for flooding are along Rte. 109 at  the Medfield/Millis line and the bridge at Causeway Street.

"On the Millis side of the bridge [on Rte. 109] is a low spot," Feeney said. "If water goes over anywhere, it will go over there. There are some other areas of concern as far as [flooding] but we got all the road flood signs ready and stuff like that. Detour signs, it’s pretty routine. It’s the same places all the time. We had a number of spots in the spring that flooded when we had all of that rain."

Feeney said he expects trees to be the main issue if Hurricane Irene hits Medfield. 

"Typically with heavy rains and the wind, trees get heavy and the leaves get heavy and the ground gets soft with all the heavy rain and if you get too much wind it knocks the trees down," Feeney said. "We expect a lot of branches down."

Regardless of the impact of the storm, Feeney said the DPW will be ready.

"We are going to have all of our guys ready and all the trucks ready to go and we’ll just wait now and see what happens," Feeney said.

NSTAR is preparing to implement their emergency restorations plan. Culverts are being cleared and damns are being checked in case of heavy rainfall. Equipment is being readied to assist NSTAR with tree and brush removal if necessary. 

Residents should call 911 in the event of an emergency. For a full list of emergency contact numbers for the Town of Medfield, see below: 

Emergency Phone Numbers:

Medfield Police - 508-359-6926

Medfield Fire Department - 508-359-2323

Emergency - Dial 911

NSTAR Electric - 800.592.2000

NSTAR Gas - 800-592-2000

National Grid - 800-322-3223

Massachusetts Water Resources Authority - 617-242-6000

Verizon - 800-837-4966

Comcast - 1-866-922-0069

Logan Airport - 800-235-6426

MA Road and Traffic Conditions - 617-374-1234 (via cell phone: 511)

MBTA - 617-222-3200