Town hears update from engineer on aqueduct leaks, monitoring plans for affected wells

Ken Bremer of Walden Engineering updated the Town of Marbletown board on the engineering work and outreach tied to leaks in the Delaware aqueduct and the town's program to help homeowners with aqueduct-related well and drainage problems. Bremer said the current contract is limited to the mapped Exhibit B area but town staff are pursuing an amendment to expand that boundary so more properties within Marbletown can be assessed.

Bremer said the program relies on objective USGS groundwater monitoring to decide whether a homeowner's problems are caused by aqueduct operations. He described the technical threshold his team uses: where water-level records show tens-of-feet differences when the aqueduct is operational versus shut down, the case is likely attributable to the aqueduct and therefore potentially eligible for remediation under the town contract. "The data is based on the groundwater level at the property when the aqueduct is operational and when it's not," Bremer said, noting examples of 40- to 60-foot drops that change eligibility assessments.

For properties lacking nearby USGS monitors, Bremer proposed installing small monitoring probes (he referred to them as "pometers") or hiring contractors to install monitoring wells to collect comparative data during a planned shutdown. "If we wait for a month and I go back and measure it again, if it's five feet again, I'm going to say, well, your groundwater level has nothing to do with [the aqueduct]," he said. Bremer explained that the program will only pursue permanent fixes for cases where monitoring shows the aqueduct is the cause.

Bremer outlined the program workflow: homeowners complete a one-page access agreement and application; Walden staff perform site inspections and prepare engineering reports; the supervisor reviews and forwards recommendations to the State agency (referred to in the meeting as "D") for final approval; then the town proceeds to design and bid procurements. He emphasized that technical specifications are being drafted for inclusion in a town contract before going to public bid.

Board members and residents pressed staff on eligibility boundaries, USGS well selection, and the timetable for a contract amendment. Town staff said the amendment to expand Exhibit B within Marbletown was near agreement and would be routed to legal review and the county controller; Bremer and staff said they expected to contact people on the growing "700" intake list once the amendment is signed. Bremer also warned that some larger properties, such as High Falls industrial parcels, require special, more expensive designs.

The board decided to continue bi-weekly coordination with the State agency and Walden. No formal financial action was taken on the program at the meeting; staff said they will seek further amendments and potential additional funding for large-design cases in follow-up meetings.