PRESS RELEASE MERRIMACK VILLAGE DISTRICT DATE OF ISSUANCE: June 3, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Merrimack Village District (MVD) is on track for a record year of pumping and distributing water to Merrimack’s 9,210 customers and approximately 25,000 users. Approximately 85% - 90% of the Town is serviced by the MVD water system. The MVD operates on a fiscal year of July 1st to June 30th. The highest annual volume to date in the last 10 years was 892,562,100 (2003-2004) gallons. As of May 31st, 2008 the District has supplied 816,998,000 gallons of water to the users. This includes flushing operations on an average of 15,822,209 gallons per year for the last three years. If we stay on this track the District usage will exceed 900,000,000 gallons for this fiscal year. The capacity of the system and its aquifers are reaching maximums. As a result, the District is asking customers to be careful and conscientious with their use of water. Your conservation efforts will assist the District in continuing to provide you with a constant and safe supply and ample fire protection. Users of water are reminded that the voters at the Annual Meeting of March 25, 2003 passed a by-law (ordinance) regarding the use of water for irrigation systems. The by-law as passed reads as follows under Section 1 D: “All customers must adhere to the odd/even water ordinance which states: MVD customers with street addresses that end in an odd number can water only on odd-numbered days of the month, while residents with even-numbered addresses can water on even-numbered days. On the 31st of March, May, July, August and October, all residents may water outside, but only from 5AM to 8AM.”… Section 2 J reads: Failure to follow this water use restriction could result in costly fines, disruption of water service and additional “return to service” costs in accordance with the MVD By-Laws and Schedule of Rates. The first offense after notification is $125.00 and it doubles (i.e, $250.00, $500.00 etc) after that for additional infractions. The District will be enforcing this By-Law. The MVD has been in the process for the last 5 years of exploration and development of new wells. The exploration is being conducted by Emery & Garrett Groundwater, Inc (EGGI) of Meredith, NH. EGGI has worked as the District’s Hydrogeologist for the last 20 years. A number of sites have been located throughout the community that could provide additional supply. In Phase I, EGGI investigated groundwater resources along the Route 3 corridor and within the northern half of the Town where new water sources are most beneficial to the MVD and its customers. Eleven areas were identified as having “the best potential for yielding groundwater supplies…” based on several factors including “vulnerability to groundwater contamination”. This Phase is complete. Phase II focuses on further investigating eight zones in the northern part of the study. This resulted in the selection of 20 exploratory test well sites. Test drilling of approved sites is currently in process. The MVD is also studying the possibility of blending the water from three existing wells. One of the wells was discontinued over twenty years ago and the other two have concentrations of iron in one and manganese in the other. Iron and manganese are not harmful but can cause clouded water and build-up in the system requiring frequent flushing of our main lines that supply water to certain sections of the Town. The goal of the blending process is to reduce this build-up of iron and manganese by adding additional volume to the system. Failing this, certain types of treatment will be necessary. All of these processes are included in the MVD Capital Improvement Program. The proposed blending solution cost is estimated at $150,000 for 2007 – 2008 and $350,000 for 2008 – 2009. If the blending proposal is not successful, additional and more extensive treatment will be required for Well #6 and Wells #7 and #8 most likely in 2009-2010. This combined treatment cost in 2009-2010 will be upwards of $4 million. It is hoped that the blending process will work for the system thereby eliminating the need for some or all of the more extensive and expansive treatment process. In the meantime, again the Commissioners ask for your cooperation in the use of water. Irrigation should only take place in the early morning hours (5am – 8am) or in the evening (5pm – 8pm). Watering lawns during the day is wasteful as much of the water is lost to evaporation. Your lawn only requires 1” of water per week. It’s best to apply this amount in one watering rather than several. Questions regarding irrigation of individual lawns should be referred to your lawn care or irrigation specialist.
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