Water District Trustees

Trustee Statement
During the 1950’s the State and later the Town unknowingly piled road salt on the ground. The result was a slow leaching of salt and chloride into ground water beneath the Upper Village area.

Later, during the 1980’s and early 1990’s, leaking petroleum storage tanks were identified in the Upper Village. While with assistance from Maine DEP the source of contamination was addressed, ground water in the Upper Village was contaminated with petroleum product.

Ground water in much of the Upper Village remains contaminated and cannot be removed.  The impacts of the contamination include:

• considerable health risk to residents
• a decrease in property values and difficulty financing property sales
• limitations on the Town’s ability to develop the area for commercial purposes
• a substantial cost over time to the Town, residents, and business owners

There is one and only one solution to this public health threat and regrettable loss of property value, which will also provide the conditions for future growth – to supply the area with quality water from a protected source.

To that end the State Legislature and District Voters have authorized the creation of the New Gloucester Water District.

The Water District Board of Trustees, in conjunction with Local, State and Federal authorities, are working to design and fund a water system that permanently solves the water quality issues and provides fire protection, reducing insurance costs and encouraging commercial development. When completed in early 2014, the project is expected to increase property values, decrease insurance costs and ensure every person’s right to clean, pure, healthy drinking water.