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Trustees and staff review water master plan, treatment expansion and irrigation alternatives
Summary
Town and district staff reviewed the 2021 water resources master plan, an in-progress water conservation plan, a water-treatment plant expansion and potential irrigation-well strategies that could reduce demand on treated water and delay costly new water‑rights acquisitions.
At the Aug. 12 work session, town and district officials reviewed water-system capacity, conservation planning and options to shift irrigation off the treated-water system to preserve capacity for domestic and municipal uses. Town staff summarized findings from the 2021 water resources master plan and a water conservation draft that is scheduled for finalization; presenters said the water treatment plant expansion project initiated in 2021 is in final development and is intended to increase treatment and distribution capacity. Officials described a recent trend of declining pumped volumes and reduced system losses between 2021 and 2025, and they discussed options to recover capacity by taking irrigation loads off the treated-water system. Staff noted that using dedicated irrigation wells or hybrid approaches for parks and sports fields could free significant single‑family equivalent capacity — presenters cited an illustrative example that removing specific irrigation demand could free the equivalent of roughly 270 residential connections (single‑family equivalents) and reduce the need to purchase additional water rights. Presenters explained technical and regulatory steps required for alternate-irrigation strategies: local well availability and yield testing, spacing requirements, augmentation obligations and a water‑court application to change water use for some sources. The meeting included a site-specific note that a well on school property drilled in 1954 reportedly produced about 20 gallons per minute in earlier tests; staff said they will pursue permit and well‑record checks to determine current viability. No formal policy vote was taken at the work session. Town staff urged continued collaboration with the school district on irrigation solutions, said the water conservation plan draft should be finalized in the near term, and recommended further engineering and legal analysis before any well development or augmentation program proceeds.
