Cornish details emergency well repairs; state grants temporary permit and requires blended nitrate testing

Council members gave an extended update on emergency repairs to the town's water system after the pitcher well and related piping experienced failures. The Chair said crews located buried valves, removed a failed 75-year-old valve and installed temporary bypasses so water could continue flowing while parts were obtained. Local contractors (Bracken, Levi, Tyson Campbell) were credited with rapid repairs that prevented a worst-case outage.

The council reviewed technical findings: mismatched pipe sizes where older metal piping met newer fittings, the need for thrust blocks at newly angled connections, and evidence that the system had been deadheading under certain conditions. A bucket test of a spring yielded roughly 20 gallons per minute; the Chair said the state issued a temporary operating permit but requires monthly blended nitrate testing as part of continued authorization. The Chair warned that the installed control panel lacks a variable-frequency drive (VFD) at the pitcher well, limiting the pump to effectively 'on' or 'off' at about 100 gallons per minute; he said a VFD would enable finer blending and protect the system. "They didn't put a VFD on that pitcher well... It's either on or off, 100 gallons a minute or 0," the Chair said. Council members agreed to continue engineering work for Phase 2 upgrades and to coordinate required testing with state staff.