Town of Mechanic Falls Annual Report 2019-2020

Town of Mechanic Falls Annual Report 2019-2020

Water Department This year we hired a contractor to replace the hydrant in the park by the mill. We usually try to accomplish projects like this with our own crew. But this hydrant was unusually deep, so we hired it out. The existing hydrant finally failed us. It was one of the oldest hydrants in the system. This past winter we had a leak on Maple Street near South Main Street. What should have been a simple dig and repair project turned out to be very trying for us. We had a terrible time shutting off the water to the neighborhood. The old gate valves just

wouldn’t cooperate. But finally, with the use of our portable pumps and plenty of help we managed to complete the repairs. Once again this was a great example of team work. The crews from the Highway Department and the Sanitary District came to our rescue once again. We were finally able to put the Poland Corner Road job out to bid. This project was to feed water to the Northern Springs Trailer Park and to give us storage to that end of our system. After opening the bids, we were dismayed to find out the project was way over bid. The project was to be paid for with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money and money from the State Drinking Water Program. After contacting the representative from CDBG and explaining our dilemma, they were able to allocate more funds to the project. The project got off to a difficult start. We had to bore under Waterhouse Brook. Test borings were done to estimate ledge. As it turns out there were “cobbles” under the stream bed. Large rocks that interfered with the drilling. So, after many attempts the pipe was finally installed and the contractor was able to continue the project to the park. We also installed two fire hydrants as part of the project. Part of this project was to furnish us with a storage tank at that end of our system. We now store about thirty thousand more gallons. It was a good year for new services. We gained about a dozen new customers. Because of the construction projects that have taken place in the past we have many services in the ground just waiting for customers to hook up. Most times a customer can hook to our system without disrupting the pavement. Last year we asked to pull the main pump and either service, or replace it. Along with that we requested a generator large enough to power the whole pumping station. Since then we have found out that there is a very good chance that we could get funding for the generator through the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) So this project has been put on hold while we wait for word of funding. Pleasant Street was reconstructed this past summer. We had about fifteen gate valves to tend to. These are the round covers that allow us access to the valve’s underneath.

Respectfully, Steve French

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