The ban on outdoor watering in South Berwick has been lifted, but residents have been asked to continue voluntary water conservation while the drought persists.
Conservation efforts and the normal seasonal decrease in water use have helped boost well levels enough to warrant the end of the outdoor ban, according to Ryan Lynch, superintendent of the South Berwick Water District. But the crisis has not evaporated.
“We are not out of the woods yet,” Lynch warned. “The drought is expected to persist through the end of the year, and supplies will only fully recover with significant rain over time.”
A new 700-foot-deep well in the Blackmore Fields, just across the Berwick town line, is scheduled to go online in November. The well is expected to produce 1.2 million gallons per month, with possible higher short-term production in critical situations, said Lynch.
The district currently produces an average of 7.4 million gallons per month; but seasonal water use fluctuates from an average minimum of 5.6 million gallons a month in winter to a maximum of 10.3 million gallons a month in summer, according to Lynch.
The new well cost the district about $288,000 to explore, drill and develop, he said. The cost includes underground drilling; the purchase and installation of water pipes, the pump and the electronics and controls required to run the system; and connection to the existing pump station building.
Funding for this project, like most major Water District projects, is provided by a low-interest loan from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said Lynch, noting that reuse of existing nearby infrastructure from an abandoned deep bedrock well saved significant cost and time.
