Last week, City Manager Michael Joyal announced the city had taken the Ireland Well that draws from the Pudding Hill Aquifer offline after it found an increasing concentration of perfluorinated compounds.
However, it exceeded those levels of 70 parts per trillion earlier this month.
Out of caution while the city’s water consultants study the contamination issues, the city also decided to take a Pudding Hill Aquifer well offline as well, even though that well wasn’t showing any signs of contamination.
While the Pudding Hill Aquifer makes up the largest source of public drinking water, it being offline does not in use does not immediately affect the city’s water needs, said Keith Pratt of Underwood Engineering that consults with the city on its water supply.
Before Dover stopped drawing from the Pudding Hill Aquifer, the city could supply a little over 5 million gallons of drinking water daily.
In addition to the water sources, Dover also has two water tanks it to help manage its supply.
If the supply were to get tight, the city could set up an emergency connection with Somersworth through connecting existing fire hydrants in short order, Pratt said.
Joyal told the council that a similar link was set-up during the Mother Day Flood of 2006 where Dover supplied Somersworth with an emergency connection.
But in the long term, Storer said the Pudding Hill Aquifer is a critical piece to Dover’s drinking water supply.
Hydrogeologist John Brooks of Emery & Garrett Groundwater Investigations, the firm that assists the city with testing the area for pollutants, said that Schnizer has been open about the pollution issues have been working collaboratively with the city on the contamination challenges.

PETOSKEY — Officials from municipalities throughout Michigan — including Petoskey — have concerns about new state rules that tighten lead pipe regulations, arguing that they could require millions of dollars in local government repairs, with no reimbursement from the state.
The rules, which burgeoned out of a reaction to the Flint water crisis, make Michigan the strictest state in the country for lead and copper levels in drinking water.
They will require that, after the year 2025, environmental agencies will have to step in if lead and copper levels reach 12 parts per billion, as opposed to the current federal standard of 15.
Some environmental groups have lauded the new rules — with the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, for example, describing them as “an important step forward in protecting all our drinking water from lead contamination.” “There is no safe amount of lead in drinking water, and no child or senior in Michigan should have lead in their water,” group deputy director Bob Allison said in a press release.
The new rules also mandate utility providers to replace all lead and copper pipes and goosenecks in their service areas by the year 2040, and that 5 percent of those pipes be replaced by 2021.
“I tend to agree with them, although I think the cause is something that certainly needs to be addressed,” Straebel said.
The cost of replacing the pipes could cost millions of dollars for municipalities.
LaMacchia argues that’s a low estimate, only accounting for cities that have above 5 parts per billion of lead in the water.
As such, the Municipal League estimates the cost to be more in the range of $2.5 billion for all municipalities in Michigan.
“This is why this becomes much more than a simple, ‘Let’s take the lead out,’” he said.

Council members will discuss whether Drought Level 1 of the city’s water conservation and drought contingency plan should be implemented.
For Drought Level 1 to go into effect, the Council must determine the city has less than 24 months of water supply.
If so, beginning Aug. 1, watering would be restricted to once every seven days, and most customers would temporarily pay 5 percent more for water to encourage conservation.
According to Anthony Wilson, the city’s public information officer, the rules apply to residential and commercial users.
One industry not affected by Drought Level I is car washes.
Wilson said most of them reuse and recycle their water so their business is not affected.
To return to standard conservation mode, which San Angelo is in now, the city would need to have a lot of heavy rainfall over a short period of time.
"This would create a run-off into the rivers and streams and would replenish our lakes," Wilson said.
Wilson said Goodfellow would be under the same regulations as everyone else, and the city is awaiting information from the federal government on what effect the temporary residents will have on San Angelo’s water supply.
Potential cost increases Residential usage Cost per 1,000 gallons Added charge 0-2,000 gallons $3.30 0 3K-5K gallons $4.81 5% 6K-15K gallons $5.62 5% 16K-39K gallons $6.02 10% >39K gallons $11.02 20% Non-residential usage Cost per 1,000 gallons Added charge All gallons $6.01 5% Landscape usage Cost per 1,000 gallons Added charge Summer 0-89K gallons $6.07 10% Summer >89K gallons $13.58 10%

Montrealers will soon not be able to reach for water bottles in vending machines in city buildings.
On Tuesday, city council unanimously passed a motion banning single-use water containers from municipal buildings.
Details have not been worked out.
Benoit Dorais, chair of the city executive committee, said it will take some time for water bottles to disappear.
“We will put forward the necessary measures, respecting the jurisdiction of the boroughs,” Dorais said, adding the city is committed to “tackling the overuse of plastic.” How many water bottles do Quebecers use?
Ensemble Montréal says more than 700 million single-use water bottles end up in Quebec landfills annually.
Recyc-Québec last year estimated that the bottled-water industry consumes more than 225,000 barrels of oil annually solely to meet the needs of the Quebec market.
What else is Montreal banning?
Montreal banned the distribution of single-use plastic bags — the kind you get at grocery and retail checkouts — as of Jan. 1.
In December, Montreal city council passed a motion calling for the gradual phasing out of sugary drinks in all municipal buildings like arenas and sports centres in a bid to reduce their negative health effects.

The Aspen City Council on Monday voted unanimously to enact stage 1 water-shortage measures, with officials citing this winter’s low snowpack and drought conditions in the area.
The goal is to decrease community-wide water use, and the municipality will take mandatory conservation measures while Aspen water customers are asked to take voluntary measures.
“Aspen is lucky to have an environmentally aware community that we can count on to reduce water use during this dry year,” said Margaret Medellin, the city’s utilities portfolio manager, in a press release.
“The city will do its part by efficiently irrigating public spaces and being vigilant to avoid water waste.
Because we have minimal water storage there are no reservoirs to call on in lean times, and it is crucial that we respond quickly to drought conditions.” The voluntary community efforts associated with stage 1 are intended to conserve water and prepare the community for the potential of mandatory water restrictions if drought conditions worsen.
The municipality already has a robust water-conservation program that citizens can utilize for education and results-oriented actions, including: irrigation-efficiency assessments, commercial kitchen dish sprayer replacement, and water-efficiency fixtures included in energy home assessments.
A specific focus during drought conditions is irrigation, as it represents the most intensive use of water for all Aspen customers.
“We invite the community to take part in our irrigation-efficiency programs,” said Ryland French, city resource efficiency administrator.
“In stage 1, we want to help homeowners and landscapers understand that you can water the right amount so your yard is beautiful without being wasteful.” In an effort to help curtail water use in Aspen’s restaurants, the city is offering a high-efficiency dish sprayer installation program to commercial kitchens from May 29 to June 1.
Kitchens may reserve their free high-efficiency dish sprayer installation by emailing eh@cityofaspen.com.

WESTFIELD — A closed-door session of the Westfield City Council April 25 will feature a discussion with Kevin Madonna, an attorney who will address some of the legal concerns regarding the city’s water supply.
Madonna is a partner of the Hurley, New York-based law firm Kennedy and Madonna LLC, which is one of the firms representing the city’s lawsuit against 3M, Chemguard Inc. and Tyco Fire Protection Products, makers of firefighting foam linked to contamination of several wells on the north side of Westfield.
The city is also pursuing a claim against the U.S. Department of Defense.
The meeting with Madonna will take place ahead of the council’s May 3 second reading of a $13 million bond request that includes measures to address the contaminated wells.
City Councilors Dan Allie, Matt Emmershy, Andrew K. Surprise and Dave Flaherty are against the bond and have argued there are other ways to pay for clean water that don’t include passing the cost to ratepayers.
Bean said having Madonna speak to the group will help them make a more informed decision when it comes to the May 3 vote.
"I think it’s important that we, as councilors, better understand the city’s legal strategy as it relates to holding the polluters accountable," said Bean.
"An executive session allows for more detailed discussion of that strategy."
Under the state’s Open Meeting Law, public bodies are allowed to hold such sessions when discussing legal strategy, among other exemptions.
He also worked with the University of Chicago National Opinion Research Center, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, United Nations Environment Programme, United States Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Office of the Environmental Prosecutor.

WESTFIELD – The Westfield City Council last night approved 9-3 the first reading of a $13 million bond request that addresses the city’s contaminated wells, improvements to the East Mountain water tank and a connection to the Springfield Water Works.
Councilors Matt Emmershy, Dave Flaherty and Andrew K. Surprise voted against the measure.
The council also approved a motion to extend the second reading to May 3 rather than the next meeting in April.
Figy suggested delaying the second reading as a compromise to allow more time for councilors to get answers to questions.
Flaherty said city experts, U.S.
Three of the four wells in that part of the city are offline due to contamination.
"They have worked with the city for months and their recommendation is to get Wells 7 and 8 up and running as fast as you can."
But Surprise said there hasn’t been a good flow of information from those experts.
Paul said the council needed to pass the bond measure and trust those "accountable and responsible" for the city’s daily operations.
Burns, who spent many years on the Westfield Water Commission, said, "You can’t just start drilling wells around Westfield" and agreed councilors must trust the plan presented.

Where does the water come from?
Where does the water go?
When there a few wells that draw a lot of water, that natural system can be compromised by pulling too hard on too few wells.
Belle Plaine has a lot of area along the river to draw water, and not a lot of development in that area.
As for where the water goes, a hearing was held on the status of the city’s ultraviolet disinfection and flow equalization project additions to the water pollution control facility improvement project, or the sewer plant project.
They are looking at state funding to get an architectural study of the historic building.
The group needs all of the funding it can get right now, Pope said.
Council member Judy Schlesselman asked about sticking to the dates that were in the resolution passed by the city council earlier this winter.
Pope felt they were covering this with the monthly updates.
The city hope to update the resolution with new deadlines and dates.

FARMINGTON — Drought conditions in San Juan County have worsened over the course of 2018, and short-term forecasts are not predicting any relief from the situation. Different drought indexes place the county in either moderate or severe drought. According to the Palmer index, which Farmington uses to monitor drought, the area is in a moderate drought. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the county is in a severe drought, and those conditions have become worse over the course of what has been an unseasonably dry and warm winter. While the drought conditions have worsened since the start of the year, officials say it is still too early to tell what that may mean for water and fire conditions for the rest of the year. Farmington Public Works director David Sypher said he is planning to give a presentation to the City Council during its 9 a.m. Feb. 20 work session about the city’s ordinances regarding drought. Sypher said the city has done what it can to prepare to meet demand if no significant moisture comes to the area in the upcoming months. “We’re hopeful that we’ll get a turnaround in the next month or two,” he said. Sypher said Farmington Lake, which stores the drinking water for the city of Farmington, is full, and the stream flow in the Animas River is good. (Photo: The Daily Times file…

Athens City Council will discuss a nuclear waste dump facility in the Piketon area during its meeting Monday after a member of Piketon City Council asked Athens City Council to oppose the site.
“The council member has written to multiple other cities and municipalities asking for support and to oppose the site of the nuclear waste dump facility,” Athens City Council President Chris Knisely said.
Council members will also discuss authorizing the City of Athens to apply for an Environmental Protection Agency grant that would allow the city to address water pollution and potentially begin other improvement projects in the city, Knisely said.
Members will also discuss the Small Cities Grant, a grant through the Ohio Department of Transportation, which would allow the city to improve pavement and curbs on West Union Street.
Council members will discuss a draft of an ordinance proposed by Councilman Pat McGee, I-At Large.
That ordinance looks to improve parking on East Union Street, where vendor parking is.
Vendors must sign a yearly agreement to park in that area now.
However, the ordinance proposes that vendors pay monthly or pay the parking meter instead.
“He’s making changes with the hopes of freeing up parking,” Knisley said.