VEAZIE, Maine — In an effort to reduce the level of disinfection byproducts in the public water, which has concerned a vocal group of residents, the Orono-Veazie Water District is talking with the Old Town Water District about purchasing water, Joan Perkins, a water district board member representing Veazie, said Thursday.
Trustee Paul Smith, an Orono-Veazie Water District board member who represents Orono, made a presentation to the Veazie Town Council earlier this week, saying that the district may buy about 200 million gallons per day from its neighbor to the north.
The goal is “to remediate THM and to address the dwindling capacity of the district’s well field,” Perkins said in an email interview.
Trihalomethanes, or THMs, are disinfection byproducts in the public water created by a group of four chemical compounds. THMs are formed when chlorine or other disinfectants are used to control microbial contaminants in drinking water and react with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which requires quarterly testing for them.
The EPA says people who drink water with higher than allowable levels of THMs over many years may have an increased risk of cancer, with young people, pregnant women and the elderly being more susceptible.
The last time the district violated the EPA limit for THMs was in the fall of 2011. The EPA has set a limit of 80 parts per billion for THMs, and the last test taken on Nov. 17 on State Street in Veazie was 57.9 parts per billion, according to updates placed on the water district’s website.
“They are pursuing the purchase of water from Old Town to blend with water from our wells to maintain levels of disinfection byproducts that are compliant with safe drinking water standards,” Perkins said.
She also said two test wells drilled earlier this year have been abandoned after Wright-Pierce deemed them unsuitable.
Old Town Water District leaders also “have commissioned and budgeted for a Cost of Service study (at an estimated cost of $10,000) to assist in developing a fair rate structure that ensures [Old Town] ratepayers will not be subsidizing the production of water to serve [Orono-
Veazie Water District] customers,” Perkins said. “Construction of a building to house the pump required to direct [Old Town] water to the Orono treatment facility began on Monday of this week. The interconnection between [Old Town] and Orono already existed (and has been used previously on a temporary basis, such as during the plant upgrade in Orono in 2010), but the pump must be protected and housed in a heated space to operate continuously year-round. The meter which will record the volume of water being diverted to Orono was previously installed.”
Messages left this week for Superintendent Dennis Cross, who is retiring at the end of the month, were not returned.