New water line for Bucks Harbor homes now being installed

A long-awaited project to supply drinkable water to a number of Bucks Harbor residents is finally under way. Construction began in late June with trenching for the waterline on Port Road near Jasper Beach in Machiasport. The 4,000 linear feet of pipeline will start at the Department of Corrections' (DOC) new pre release center -- formerly Downeast Correctional Facility (DCF) -- and it will provide safe, clean drinking water to homes in the Bucks Harbor area whose wells were determined not suitable for drinking due to high levels of pollutants.
  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been at the lead on this project since contaminants were found in and around a large area once occupied by a U.S. Air Force base situated on the site of DCF. According to the USACE Project Manager Marie Wojtas, the project will be completed by October 16.
  In 1994, USACE found 11 different chemicals while removing fuel tanks from housing units located below a radar site once occupied by the U.S. Air Force and then by DCF. At the time of the tank removal, one chemical, trichloroethylene (TCE), raised the most concern. TCE was a primary cleaning agent used on radar equipment.
  Further testing in 1995 determined a number of private wells in the area were contaminated with TCE. The USACE had point-of-entry charcoal filtration systems installed at the affected residences and began discussions on a remediation process. Many years later, a plan to run a water pipeline from the DCF public well was finally developed and presented at a special town meeting in May of 2016. That pipeline is the result of decades of debate and discussions between state government agencies, USACE and the Town of Machiasport.
  In November 2016 Colby Company LLC was awarded the design contract by USACE, and in 2017 CCI Energy And Construction Services was hired to commence with the design and construction of the pipeline. The abrupt closure of DCF in 2018 by the LePage administration brought everything to a halt.
  Then in February 2020 DOC under the Mills administration decided to reopen DCF as a pre release center and agreed to work alongside USACE to also make the pipeline a reality. Wojtas says, "Once DOC made their decision regarding the pre release center, Wood Environment and Infrastructure Solutions was hired to review and update the previous plan. Once that was completed, we then awarded CCI Facility Contractors in August 2021 the contract to move forward with construction as soon as possible."
  According to Wojtas the original design plan has not changed and will allow for five homes to be connected and will allow up to five more homes to be connected should it be warranted. "To date, no other homes, beyond the original five, have been impacted," says Wojtas. She advises that testing will continue at existing monitoring wells and at residents' homes in the vicinity of the impacted groundwater to continue USACE's evaluation of the extent of contamination and to maintain safe conditions in the area. "USACE looks forward to completion of this phase of the project and our continued involvement with the Town of Machiasport residents."