Hydrants, Intersections of Concern in Westwood Due to Winter Weather

While the rain might have alleviated the snowfall totals from , winter-related issues are far from over in Westwood.

“We actually have had just as much snow as predicted,” said Vicki Quiram, Director of the Westwood Department of Public Works. “In fact I think it’s more snow than what was predicted. When it starts to rain, then we’re running around locating catch basins, and what we’re trying to do is clean them out.”

There are currently about 1,200 catch basins in Westwood; storm water runs through them via street drains and grates. Quiram said there had been concern that flooding would occur if the basins could not be cleared. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, the only reports of flooding in Westwood related to street flooding.

“The (basins) get covered by snow, and then the water doesn’t have any place to go,” Quiram said.

Locating and cleaning basins just adds to the problems Westwood officials have had to deal with due to the significant snowfall amounts this winter.

One problem has revolved around accumulating snow banks, which can cause visibility issues for drivers and pedestrians at various intersections in town.

“On January 31, we went to every street in Westwood and pushed back the snow,” Quiram said when asked about the snow banks. “We just did not have enough room in the streets to take another storm like this. 

DPW crews also responded to various street corners to push snow banks back in an attempt to make intersections safer.

“It’s building up, but we’re doing our best to reach (them),” Quiram said.

Adding to that, Quiram said she spoke with the Westwood Pedestrian and Bike Safety Committee this week regarding specific roads that could be hazardous to pedestrians and drivers. Those included the corner of Washington and East Streets, Fox Hill Street, and the intersection of Nahatan and Clabboardtree Street.

“Basically, those were some of the concerns that they brought to our attention and we’ve tried to focus on,” Quiram said.

As of Wednesday, the DPW’s priority was to clear the roads to make them as safe as possible for commuters. Thursday would be spent more for tending to intersections of concern, Quiram said. 

Meanwhile, Quiram plans to attend Monday’s meeting of the Westwood Board of Selectmen, where she will request a further expansion of the town’s snow and ice removal budget, .

Another issue of concern is the in town that have been completely buried by the snow.

“To the extent that people can clear snow away from the hydrants, that’s very important,” Westwood Fire Chief William Scoble said Wednesday. “It’s clearly an issue, as hydrants we simply cannot get to, so we’re trying to work that out right now.”

Scoble said he met with town officials and representatives of the Dedham-Westwood Water District, which manages the hydrants, regarding the issue, and residents are encouraged to help where they can.

“With everything wet right now, it' just going to freeze them rock solid,” Scoble said.

In terms of damage from the storm this week, a report came in from a Verizon phone line that came down due to the snow and ice. A DPW loader hit the line while driving, Quiram said, and Verizon was contacted to see to the issue.

Likewise, Westwood Police received a variety of reports from weather-related incidents, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"We’ve had the issues you would expected with this type of storm,” said Westwood Police Detective Paul Toland. "The events of today would be characterized as stereotypical given the weather conditions."