Addressing the ‘waiting list’ for water service

Upgrades to the Village Water System means that it now has the capacity to accommodate more users - but not as many as would like to be connected to the system.

In order to fairly determine which residents and businesses make the list, the Town Council is expected at its Feb. 9 meeting to adopt a Village Water System policy developed by the Water Task Force.

The Task Force is also working on proposed connection charges.

The proposed policy requires someone who wants to be connected to a public water system to submit an application that will then be “ranked” according to a weighted, 500-point system by the executive director of the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA), the district’s health director, the town manager and the town’s chief building official.

The ranking considers most heavily health and safety (50 percent), followed by economic benefits (30 percent) and costs to operate (20 percent).

Note that a high value in the “costs to operate” column means that the cost to install, operate and maintain the connection is low.

Health and safety considerations can include such circumstances as a property’s well water is deemed unsafe to drink.

Economic development considerations would be ranked in the context of the town’s Economic Development Commission’s mission statement.

The ranked applications would be forwarded to the WPCA Board of Directors and the Town Council for approval.

If approved, the property owner would be responsible for all costs, and would be considered the owner of the water service connection and required to keep the connection in good condition.

Below is a list of 10 requests for connection (from the Town Council’s Feb. 9 meeting packet).

Posted Feb. 7, 2010