FARMINGTON — Concerns about use of a mill pond located in the town’s wellhead protection zone for storm water treatment are expected to be raised during a public hearing on the proposed Brookside Village housing project.

The hearing begins at 6 p.m. Monday, April 9, at the Municipal Building.
Planning Board members will walk around the site of the proposed 32-unit low-income-elderly housing project at 247 Fairbanks Road at 4:30 p.m. Monday prior to holding the hearing.

Both sessions are open to the public.

Property abutter Brad Smith said he hopes residents and water customers will take interest and attend to ensure protection of the aquifer that supplies public water, he said Friday.

Smith, who owns a real estate office located in front of and very close to the site of the proposed two-story building, raised concerns last month when the board started its review of the Brookside Village application submitted by developers William Marceau and Byron Davis.

The developers’ engineer indicated the pond would be used for treatment of storm surface water, which could then flow under Fairbanks Road to the Sandy River, running about 300 feet from one of the town‘s wells.

Smith questioned the potential for oil, gas and antifreeze from vehicles parked at the nearby housing unit and household chemicals or road salt mixing with the storm runoff waters and ending up in the pond.

The engineer said treatment actions would result in no contamination of the aquifer. He also told the board that in discussions with employees of Farmington Village Corp., the town’s water department, the proposal was acceptable to them. However, he did not have their written approval when asked for it by the board.

James Andrews and Clyde Ross, trustees of the corporation along with John Wilbur, said Friday that they are drafting a letter to the Planning Board but would not indicate whether they’ll approve the project or not.

The trustees do plan to attend the public hearing.

A solution could involve having a study done by an independent hydro geologist to determine if the plans pose any potential threat to the town wells, Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser said on Friday.

Since last month’s meeting, Smith’s research has raised more questions about the application, which he plans to bring before the board Monday.

Voters accepted a $500,000 community development block grant for the project during last month’s town meeting. Three of five selectmen told Smith they were unaware that the pond was within the town’s wellhead protection zone when they agreed for the town to act as administrator of the funds, he said.

The town enacted a wellhead protection ordinance in 2004 to protect the public water supply.

Smith said he plans to ask the board to wait on a decision. The board tabled action last month pending the walk-over and public hearing.

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