Only two of the 571 dry wells in Maine reported to the state Drought Task Force are in South Berwick, although approximately 50% of local households are served by private wells.
About 35 dry wells have been reported in York County, according to Art Cleaves, director of the York County Emergency Management office, but that number may not tell the whole story.
“We know there are likely many more in York County and across the state,” Cleaves said. “Some people don’t report their dry well to the State.”
Data collected through these reports help determine the scope and magnitude of private dry well conditions throughout the state. The majority of the dry wells reported to the State are in Oxford County, just northwest of York County.
According to the Drought Task Force, there are signs that a well is likely at risk of running dry: faucets in the house sputter; tap water is discolored or muddy; there is a change in the taste or smell of the water; or neighbors are reporting dry wells.
Ryan Lynch, superintendent of the South Berwick Water District, said private well owners can check the water in their well periodically with an inexpensive well measuring tape.
“After not using any water for at least two hours, disinfect the tape and then very carefully lower it into the well to assess the water level,” he advised.
Lynch also suggested a simpler, but less accurate, method to check water levels.
“A single ice cube can be dropped down the well and timed, how long until the splash,” Lynch said. “The estimated well depth is equal to 16 times the number of seconds squared. So, if it’s 2 seconds to splash, you would multiply 16 by 4 for a depth of 64 feet.”
He cautioned well owners not to allow anything else to be put in the well, to avoid contamination.
Public water suppliers like the Water District hire a hydrogeologist to evaluate the source of the groundwater supply, as well as the depth, direction and distance around the wells, Lynch explained, while most homeowners with private wells have little information about how water gets to their well and how much can be used without stressing the groundwater supply.
“In general, the deeper the well the less risk of a negative impact of a drought,” Lynch noted.
A “private well” is any well not regulated as a public water system by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Drinking Water Program.
Because private wells are not regulated, property owners are responsible for testing and treating their own water, but the state CDC provides free help to residents with questions about their wells, water sampling and water treatment..
Both Lynch and Cleaves urge water conservation by everyone during a drought. “We ask that we all conserve water during all droughts, because water is a limited resource not only critical for us, but to the environment,” said Lynch.
While South Berwick’s ongoing outdoor watering ban applies only to customers of the Water District, Lynch also urges owners of private wells to make conservation efforts due to low water table levels. Those water tables feed both the private wells and the town’s water supply.
Besides the option of consulting the Maine CDC with concerns about a private well, Cleaves also advises residents to contact him or South Berwick Fire Chief Nick Hamel, who serves as the town’s emergency management director.
Cleaves, who was Maine’s emergency manager in the early 2000s, offered some perspective on the current water crisis.
“While this drought is concerning, and a warning, the impact isn’t as severe as the 2002 drought,” he said. “Back then, there were 17,000 dry wells, statewide.”
He acknowledged there is little immediate financial assistance available to the majority of owners of dry wells, but the York County Emergency Management office said low-income homeowners faced with dry wells may be eligible for assistance from two agencies.
Maine Housing’s Home Accessibility and Repair Program provides grants or loans to help low-income homeowners make critical home repairs, including those related to drought impacts; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Single Family Housing Repair Program offers loans and grants to very-low-income rural homeowners for essential repairs, including water system and well improvements.
These loans can help cover fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other essential expenses, but they are not intended to replace lost sales or profits, according to the department’s website.
All of York County is eligible as “rural” under the USDA program.
