by B. Michael Thurlow, originally posted on August 19, 2016

It has certainly been an exceptional summer for weather if you’re a tourist or love outdoor activities, but the lack of rain is starting to be challenging for farmers, gardeners, and those on private wells.

We are starting to hear about wells that are running dry due to the lack of rain over these last several weeks. It seems like even when fronts and thunderstorms roll through the state, they seem to miss Scarborough.

Because the long-range forecast doesn’t show much of a change from this sunny summer pattern, I wanted to remind folks that the town of Scarborough offers a free public water dispensing site at our Dunstan Fire Station.

For years the Portland Water District maintained several different sites around town where clean water was available for the public.

Many of these had been around for a long time and they were becoming a maintenance issue for the district.

Additionally, since they were located on the edge of the roadways there was a public safety concern as traffic flows continued to increase.

The solution was to work with the Portland Water District to decommission those old access points and consolidate them into one public water supply spigot at our Dunstan Fire Station which is located at 639 Route 1.

The photo above illustrates the location of the spigot which is on the western or Saco side of the building.

The public is welcome to bring their own containers and get water there anytime day or night. You don’t need to access the fire station or ask permission, the spigot is on the outside of the building and is always on. We have even striped the parking area to prohibit parking in front of the spigot to maintain access for those who need it.

We are fortunate that we don’t often experience the types of droughts that many other areas of the country do, but if you are nervous about your well or the quality of your drinking water, feel free to stop by the Dunstan fire station and help yourself.

If you have any questions about this article or any fire department issue you may contact me at mthurl@ci.scarborough.me.us or 730-4201.