GUILFORD – Least year’s hurricane brought issues with the hamlet of Guilford’s main water source to the forefront of officials’ minds. The hurricane washed away about 10 feet of the embankment directly bellow County Rd. 35, between the lake’s spillway and the hamlet’s water treatment plant. About 30 feet, or three sections, of the piping was exposed. The exposure necessitated an emergency fix and large rocks were placed both underneath the three sections of piping for support, as well as on top of the piping to provide a measure of protection.
“The piping is old and has been an issue for at least 15 years,” said Guilford’s Town Supervisor George Seneck. A few years ago the town tried to use pigging, a form of pipe maintenance and cleaning, to fix the piping, but was informed that the pipeline was not straight enough to preform the procedure.
The issue has been further complicated by two other factors. As an open water source, the lake is vulnerable to contamination and the state has begun to strongly encourage hamlets, such as Guilford, to adopt closed water sources. Open water sources are also much more costly to treat than closed sources, such as wells. Mt. Upton, which uses a well and services a comparable amount of people, spends almost half of what Guilford does on water treatment each year, Seneck estimated. Residents of Guilford subsequently pay almost twice as much as Mt. Upton residents do for their water, he said. Town officials have been working diligently to come up with a solution that rectifies this disparity.
Guilford’s tried twice to drill wells to provide the hamlet with a cheaper water source. The latest project was concluded between 2001-2005 and resulted in the town’s backup water source on Furnace Hill Road. The cost of the well on Furnace Hill reached an estimated $347,000 upon completion, Seneck said, but does not produce enough water to take the place of the lake as the hamlet’s main source. In order for a well to be used as a main water source, it must produce at least 30 gallons of water a minute – but the well on Furnace Hill is capable of producing only 15 gallons of water per minute at max capacity. The Furnace Hill well is properly maintained and when last year’s hurricane forced the hamlet to use the backup well for six weeks, no problems ensued.
Wednesday night, Guilford’s planning board members met to discuss the town’s options. Even without the damage wrought by last year’s hurricane, the piping is old and needs either extensive repairs or replacement. The board has predicted that a proper fix for the piping could end up costing the town a six-figure sum with the entire process taking anywhere from three to four years to complete, Seneck said. The board also believes the town will soon have to deal with increased pressure from the state to move away from an open water source. Combined with the high cost of treating the water from the lake and the work that will need to be done on the piping, it is the planning board’s opinion that using the lake will not remain a feasible option for much longer. The planning board has recommended to the town to continue investigating other options, but attempting to drill a new well seems to be the best choice, Seneck said. Town officials plan to get in touch with Barney and Sons Well Drilling, Inc., the company which drilled Mt. Upton’s well, to get an estimate on the cost of drilling a new well for Guilford.