M.A. HASKELL & SONS TRUCKING delivers water Friday at Bay Bridge Estates in Brunswick to supplement the park’s distressed water supply.
Water deliveries began at the Bay Bridge Estates mobile home park on Old Bath Road on Friday and will keep coming for at least a week to address a water shortage endured by residents.
The water issues began on Dec. 29. Because of a much higher than usual demand on the park’s well-fed water supply, the water was restricted during off-peak times to conserve water and allow the well to recharge.
The abnormally high usage was attributed to broken pipes, as well as residents who ran their taps continuously in order to keep their pipes from freezing during a recent cold snap.
There are 409 living units and more than 1,000 residents in the Brunswick park.
Kevin McCarthy of Liberty Management, which owns the park, announced plans last week to drill a third well this coming spring. Instead, that work will start soon to address the water supply problems.
Unsatisfied with the park’s short-term plan to address the issue, town officials scheduled bulk water deliveries itself to make sure residents have adequate water.
Brunswick Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Emerson, the town’s health officer, was at the mobile home park Friday and estimated more than 20,000 gallons had been off loaded into the water system.
Emerson said residents should be prepared for ongoing truck deliveries daily to sustain the system until a new well is online.
“As of today, the town of Brunswick is pleased to report that an agreement has been reached with the owners of the Bay Bridge Estates,” said town attorney Stephen Langsdorf in a press release Friday. “Efforts are underway to return and maintain the water supply at the mobile home park.
“To immediately address the crisis, the town has arranged, with the park owners’ consent, for water to be trucked from the Brunswick & Topsham Water District at the expense of the park’s owners,” he added. “These deliveries will supplement any groundwater in the park’s 12 5,000-gallon storage tanks at levels that will enable residents to have full access to this water supply with no rationing.”
Langsdorf told The Times Record that the park owners didn’t agree to pay for the water deliveries until Friday.
According to the release, work on the new well will begin Tuesday and be completed within 10 days. It should have ample capacity to deal with any high-usage scenarios in the near future.
“We believe the combination of these short- and long-term actions will provide relief for residents and fully resolve the issue for the foreseeable future,” Langsdorf said.
Emerson said the on-site park management has been incredible. He thanked M.A. Haskell and Sons Trucking, which made three water deliveries Friday, as well as the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Maine Rural Water Association and the Maine Drinking Water Program which have all worked to help find a solution to this issue. Two inspectors with the Maine Drinking Water Program were at the park Friday to make sure the water deliveries were done properly.
Residents have been receiving bottled water deliveries at the mailboxes, including from Shaw’s Supermarket and Poland Springs. The Emergency Action Network has been working with the Brunswick School Department and the town of Brunswick since Wednesday to bring drinking water to the tenants of Bay Bridge Estates.
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