Chatham Well Repairs Moving Ahead

July 13, 2023

Well pump adapter being installed. Town of Chatham

CHATHAM – A temporary water vessel is up and running for the busy summer season as Chatham continues to face challenges from some of its wells due to PFAS contamination and repairs.

Public Works Director Rob Faley said testing for PFAS at well #5 will occur monthly as per state requirements.

He added that the permanent treatment facility for wells #5 and 8 are full steam ahead, with an engineering agreement pending approval.

“For wells #5 and 8, a state revolving fund construction loan has been approved for $15 million for low or no interest rates. That’s the maximum allowable for this year. The Weston and Samson agreement for engineering services during construction is currently under review with the town,” said Faley.

“And the contractor pre-qualification process is still yet to begin, but we anticipate that occurring this month.”

Construction will be underway this month.

New wells number 10 and 11 are expected to come online this fall, though no exact date has been set yet for completion as the town continues to see high water usage.

He added that several low-water alarms have tripped over the past month, oftentimes around 5 am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“So is that a coincidence based on the timing of irrigation systems? I mean we really don’t know, but it really is a difficult time for our wells to make up that lost ground. When they hit that low water level, the wells are typically working five to seven hours just to regain that momentum that was lost,” said Faley.

The select board weighed restrictions on irrigation systems as the town’s water infrastructure is taxed, though they took no immediate action related to bans.