Stonington
Water loss impacts utility’s bottom line;
rate increase possible

by Faith DeAmbrose
As clues are gathered in Stonington’s case of the missing water, the utility continues to operate at unprecedented levels. As water company superintendent Roger Stone and the town’s board of selectmen met February 1, they discussed the water issue, and seeing no further developments, will aim to draft an operating budget reflective of the additional costs. These costs may translate into a rate increase for its customers, the selectmen say.

Using a colorful bar graph as an aid for discussion, Stone explained to the board the depth and scope of the problem:

• The utility continues to lose massive amounts of water;
• the losses primarily take place over a 24-hour period and always include a Wednesday;
• the losses to date (comparing October through January usage from 2009 and 2010) are approximately 1,777,600 gallons of treated water;
• the water is not being metered, nor is it going into the sewer system; and
• the utility has incurred significant costs to pump and treat the water that has disappeared.

Stone said that individual losses, those roughly occurring each Wednesday, are anywhere between 20,000 and 34,000 gallons of additional usage, and that on Saturday and Sunday no additional use is recorded. Stone said he has visited businesses that traditionally use vast amounts of water and has personally inspected much of the town’s plumbing, but still remains “baffled.”

Working with Maine Rural Water and now the Maine State Drinking Water Program, Stone said the group continues to develop theories and continues to look for solutions. He said he still believes the whole thing is being done intentionally and that the water is most likely being discharged into the ocean or other body of water. Stone reemphasized the consequences of intentional tampering with a public utility, which consists of state and federal penalties, including that of the Patriot Act, which considers the act one of terrorism.

Questioning how long the water company can sustain the current level of loss, Stone said the utility is running as many wells as it can safely and that in an extreme emergency water can be taken from ponds and treated.

Stone will come back to the selectmen at their next meeting on February 8 to continue budget discussions.

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