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Hampden water project: board opts for continued testing at one remote home amid high hookup costs
Summary
Select Board members discussed PFAS testing, connection options and costs for several outlying properties on the Scantic water project, recommending continued annual testing for a remote home after contractors reported very high directional‑boring estimates.
The Town of Hampden Select Board reviewed progress on the Scantic/Scenic water project and discussed options for homes far from mains, including a recommendation to continue monitoring rather than force hookups for a remote property.
Project staff told the board one homeowner at 129 Scenic faces a long, difficult run to connect service and that engineering estimates for directional boring were roughly $90,000. The board discussed three options for that household and recommended Option 1: continue periodic testing rather than immediate hookup or filtration, while keeping dialogue open with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
A town staff member described Option 1 as “do no remediation, but continue to test,” and said annual testing costs for a private well under Option 1 are about $2,100 per year. The staff member also said a point‑of‑entry filtration option would carry an initial cost the staff described as approximately $4,500 plus installations for multiple hooks; staff contrasted those short‑term costs with the substantially larger estimate for directional boring to bring a service line through steep and rocky terrain.
Staff reported they had asked DEP to consider removing the remote property from the hookup list but that DEP had been reluctant to do so. The contractor used on the project (referred to in the meeting as Baltazar/Balthazar) does not perform long directional borings and the town has not yet received firm quotes from specialty contractors for that work.
Board members noted geological complexity, streams and boulders along the route and said those on‑site conditions could increase costs beyond initial estimates. The board also discussed the larger program schedule: staff said about 20 service connections were expected to be active by year‑end and that the town anticipates reducing testing frequency for properties with repeated nondetect results after a period of clean tests.
For the property discussed at the meeting, meeting minutes and staff recommendations described continuing the current testing schedule rather than ordering immediate hookup. Board members said they would continue outreach with DEP and keep affected homeowners informed as the project progresses.
