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Replacement well sought at 424 River Road; board asks DEP for guidance on Title‑5 setback
Summary
An engineer representing the owner of 424 River Road requested a replacement shallow well where a 100‑foot Title‑5 setback is not achievable; the property owner reported coliform and supply problems. The board asked staff to seek Mass. DEP guidance and to obtain full water‑quality tests before deciding.
An engineer representing the owner of 424 River Road presented a plan for a replacement shallow well after the existing well near the river became non‑potable, and the property owner described recurring supply and contamination problems.
"The water is no longer, I would rather say, portable," the engineer said, describing sandy, rocky soils and a constrained lot where meeting Title‑5's 100‑foot setback from septic components is impractical. The property owner told the board the well first ran dry about five years ago and that private tests showed coliform; he said he did not have the lab reports at the meeting.
Board members and staff discussed technical tradeoffs including salinity, supply and desalination challenges, and precedent from other cottage communities. Several members said the board is not comfortable granting a local variance in isolation given 310 CMR/Title‑5 language that bars constructing a well closer than the regulatory setback and does not describe a variance for that provision. The board asked the applicant to provide complete well test results, additional desalination information, and authorized staff to seek guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection before acting further.
