Dixfield selectmen learned Jan. 12 that 16 more dead end water pipes had been found.
DIXFIELD – Selectmen and public works Director David Orr thought they had a handle on coloration and pressure problems associated with old pipes in the town’s water system.
Public works crews had been flushing five dead-end pipes attached to 1-inch and 2-inch water lines on a weekly basis to resolve the problems. But at the Jan. 12 selectmen’s meeting, Orr said the problem was much larger than originally believed.
Sixteen more dead-end pipes had been found.
Additionally, the Blayne Street cave-in revealed a system of 2-inch water mains. Town officials had been unaware of their existence.
Heavy rains and associated flooding on the night of Dec. 17, caused several washouts in Dixfield. The worst damage occurred on Blayne Street when water lines to two homes were washed out, along with the culvert that carries Beedy Brook into Webb River.
Orr told selectmen at the Jan. 12 meeting that the cave-in, which created a massive crater, had been mostly repaired at a cost of $46,700. Paving and guardrail installation must still be completed.
But another problem was realized when Orr learned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would only pay for installation of a 3-foot diameter culvert at the site, not the needed 5-foot diameter culvert.
Orr also said the federal agency would only pay 75 percent of flood-related damages, leaving the cash-poor town to come up with the other 25 percent.
Town Manager Nanci Allard said she had notified FEMA that December floods and heavy rains caused an estimated $110,000 in damage in Dixfield.
In other business at the Jan. 12 meeting, fire Chief Scott Blaisdell shared with selectmen his concerns about cracks that had appeared on one wall at the fire station on Main Street.
“It’s not a load-bearing wall, but it needs to get repaired,” he said.
Some brick faces on an outside wall had also been broken. He believed that pre-poured concrete planks lining the floor of the station’s meeting room may have shifted, causing the problem.
Blaisdell said he would file a repair estimate with the board at a future meeting.
tkarkos@sunjournal.com
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