Pembroke aquifer among options for PWD water source

The Passamaquoddy Water District (PWD) is exploring different options for its source of water, including the possibility of groundwater from an aquifer in the Pembroke area. Representatives from the PWD and the district's engineering firm, A.E. Hodsdon of Waterville, will be meeting with the Pembroke selectmen on Monday, September 29, at 5 p.m. at the fire station to discuss the possibility.

PWD Manager Nancy Seeley says that the district is only conducting preliminary discussions at this point. "Nothing is being pursued at this stage," she says. "We're just at the talking stage at this point." Other options that the PWD may consider could include an aquifer in Charlotte or piping deeper into Boyden's Lake, which has a high level of organic compounds and a high turbidity, with the deeper water providing a better source.

Seeley says the water district is considering possibilities to find a source for a better quality of water than Boyden's Lake because water quality regulations are continually increasing. The district recently has not met requirements under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act for the maximum contaminant levels for both haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes. "It's more regulated than ever," says Seeley of water quality regulations. "It's not that the water is turning bad, but we have to comply with the regulations."

In addition to regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Department of Environmental Protection regulates the discharge from the PWD treatment plant in Perry into Boyden's Stream. The district has to comply with aluminum and the chlorine residual limits and currently is in violation on the aluminum discharge. Seeley, though, notes that the aluminum level in the untreated water is high. "It's difficult to meet all the requirements," she says. "The rules are changing yearly."

An effort by the PWD in the mid-1980s to explore the use of water from the aquifer in Pembroke ended up being abandoned, with Pembroke residents expressing concerns about the possible threat to the water table. Legislation was then introduced and eventually enacted to form a Pembroke utilities district, which provides for some local control over the Pembroke aquifer. Pembroke residents approved the formation of the district in 1988.