Town scores $250K state grant to find water sources

PORTLAND — The state Department of Public Health has awarded Portland a $ 250,000 grant to identify alternate sources of drinking water, something the town has sought to do for some time, officials said.

First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield was notified of the grant in a telephone call Monday from Lori Mathieu, the public health section chief of DPH’s drinking water section.

“This is something that we have been asking for the past few years,” Bransfield said Tuesday.

“Having access to safe, clean, potable water is extremely important,” she said.

The town has a well and also buys 146 million gallons of water annually from the Metropolitan District Commission, which comes at “a substantial cost,” Bransfield said.

The town has a 30-year contract with the Regional Water Authority, due to expire in the latter part of this decade.

The town Water/Sewer Department provides water to approximately 2,300 customers, Director of Public Works Robert Shea said Tuesday.

“It’s always good to have many options as you can,” Shea said.

Bransfield said locating and developing an additional water source “could help control our water rates” and provide other benefits.

The Brainerd Place mixed-use development, which calls for construction of 240 apartment units as well as restaurants and retail stores, will be a major consumer of water. And if the development is successful, it could spur additional development in town, also increasing the demand for water.

Bransfield said the town Water & Sewer Commission and Board of Selectmen “have been working very hard for the past three years” on the water issue.

“We have been looking for own source of water to augment what we already have,” both in the well and from the MDC, Bransfield said.

As part of the effort to get the money from DPH, Bransfield said she reached out to state Sen. Norm Needleman, a Democrat whose district includes Portland, to “add his voice” to those of town officials.

Mathieu did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking addition details about the grant.

“Having access to safe, clean, potable water is extremely important.” First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield