The more than 1,300 residents of Brunswick’s Bay Bridge Estates could soon have a more reliable water source, as the town is planning to build a public water line extension to the mobile home community.
The estimated $3 million project could be covered by a mix of local and federal funding. Cumberland County awarded the town a $1.5 million grant for the project and a $1.9 million federal appropriation is in the works, Town Manager John Eldridge said this week.
In 2018 during a water shortage at Bay Bridge, the town intervened and trucked in water. The shortage happened during a cold snap over the winter. Park officials blamed burst pipes and people leaving taps running to prevent frozen pipes. The community uses three wells for water.
The extension would involve connecting a line on Old Bath Road near Maplewood Manor to Bay Bridge about 2 miles away.
“It’s been a priority project,” Eldridge said. “This would give people a more than adequate supply of good water.”
He said construction could begin next year if the town is awarded $1.9 million in federal funding through a Congressional Directed Spending request. The town said Bay Bridge’s three wells can’t handle demand and cited concerns about fire protection and the drinking supply. Sen. Susan Collins, vice chairperson of the Senate Appropriations Committee, advanced the funding in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The committee passed the bill last month; the full Senate will soon consider it.
Bay Bridge residents would become ratepayers to the Brunswick & Topsham Water District after being hooked up to the public water system.
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