DIXFIELD – Thirty people attending Monday night’s public hearing on town water system woes and needs, gained a better understanding of the big picture.

That portrait, painted by Bill Dawson, the town’s water system capital improvement engineer, revealed the need to pursue as many grants as possible to correct $1.3 million worth of problems based on January dollars.

Piping problems predate the 1920s in some areas of Dixfield.

Other woes include galvanized, lead and copper piping that are leaching oxidized iron, lead and copper into the water.

“The piping has been ignored because officials were handling what they could at the time,” Dawson said, explaining why Dixfield’s water main infrastructure has been largely left untouched over the years.

There are 16 or more dead ends; 12.88 miles of piping, the majority of which are 1- and 2-inch lines; and more than 11,890 feet of pipes on 19 streets that must be replaced with 8- and 12-inch water main lines.

“Any pipe less than 6 inches in diameter won’t provide fire protection, and with the amount of services on that pipe, it’s more than likely to have problems with pressure,” Dawson added.

Several people indicated they had problems with pressure and ferric water.

Other problems cited were inadequate records-keeping, installation of a dated water treatment system designed for caustic chemicals rather than soda ash to correct metal concentrations, and untested water meters.

In 1994, Dixfield did a major overhaul of its water system, which it acquired in 1979, taking on $3.2 million in debt.

That project – getting two new gravel-packed wells and a new reservoir, all of which are producing quality water – was completed in 1998.

But a lack of money stalled job completion.

Dawson found evidence of this on Main Street from the bridge to Weld Street, where new pipes were not put down in 1997 and 1998.

Likewise, in 1997 on Ellis Street and Fair Avenue, pipes were placed on both sides of the roads, but they weren’t connected in the middle.

But despite the gloom, he did find a silver lining.

“The spine of your piping system is very strong. You’ve got a foundation to build off of to have a good system, so what you need to do is address your old pipes,” Dawson said.

To do that, he said town officials seeking grants should go for the whole pile of proposed capital improvement projects rather than take a piecemeal approach to fixing the problems.

“Everybody has a limit as to how far they can dig to pay their water bills. If you go for the whole thing, that shows you have a large need. Don’t phase it until you see how successful you are at getting grants,” he added.

[email protected]