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Commission presses for quick action on source-water assessment amid development requests
Summary
The commission said a source-water assessment and engineering report will guide whether and when new developments can receive water; permitting and design will run concurrently and, if everything proceeds, a new connection could be two years away.
The commission discussed the source-water assessment and urged prompt review of a forthcoming power-engineering report to manage pending development requests.
Why it matters: Several pending development proposals may require mains or new connections. The commission indicated it is withholding water-availability letters until it has a clear plan and timeline, which affects developers, the planning office and future construction schedules.
The chair summarized the process: permitting with the state Department of Health and the Water Resources Board, concurrent design, and a bidding and construction phase. "Probably I would say two years out, if everything goes smoothly before we can open a valve," he said when outlining a realistic schedule. Board members discussed options developers might take if the water main is not extended (installing individual wells) and whether that is acceptable under state rules. The chair emphasized it is better to have a solution identified so the town can issue conditional approvals or water-availability letters tied to a known timeline.
Members also discussed short-term operational measures to preserve supply (odd/even outdoor watering, restrictions on outdoor use) and monitoring tools such as the AMI collector on the Westwood Road tank that will enable near-real-time customer readings and faster leakage detection. The chair said the collector is estimated to reach 65% to 70% of accounts once installed, improving daily monitoring.
Next steps: The commission will hold a separate meeting once the power-engineering report is distributed to members and will schedule a work session to review questions in detail with the consultant.
