Water department details testing results and a brief service shutdown; inspections and valve repairs to raise costs

Town water officials reported improved arsenic levels but flagged maintenance and inspection needs that will affect next year’s budget.

At the Jan. 13 meeting, the water-department update (read by S4) said arsenic levels were "way down" and that year-end pumping and usage reports had been completed. S4 described a Jan. 9 flow-meter replacement that encountered a faulty part and briefly shut the town water supply for about 30 minutes while crews improvised a fix; replacement o-rings and washers remain outstanding and a future one-hour shutoff may be needed to finish repairs. "The water will have to be shut off again, hopefully, for an hour at the most," S4 said, adding officials will schedule work to avoid affecting schools and businesses where possible.

S4 recommended increasing the contracted-services line to cover tank inspections that were overdue (inspections normally occur every five to 10 years; this town’s tanks have gone 12 years without inspection). S4 estimated tank-inspection costs at roughly $2,000 per tank and asked the board to increase both contracted services and equipment lines to allow for a 4-inch valve-body replacement and associated work. Board members acknowledged the extra expense and noted that some repairs and parts were paid for but installation requires additional piping work.

Officials said replacement pumps for the sewer system have been purchased but their installation awaits the piping and site work required; officials will notify the public before any planned shutoffs and aim to schedule them at times that minimize impacts.