FARMINGTON — Learning where the town’s water comes from and how to protect it was the topic presented Tuesday to fifth-graders at Cascade Brook School by the Maine Rural Water Association and the Farmington Village Corp. Water Department.

MRWA Sourcewater Program Manager Susan Breau-Kelley joined Jane Woodman, business manager for the Farmington Water Department, to provide a fun, fact-filled hour on local water to four classes.

The fifth-graders will one day soon become stewards of the town’s water, Breau-Kelley said.

She travels around the state joining with rural water systems to teach youngsters about their local water source and how to protect it, Breau-Kelley said before the class began.

“What we’re trying to prevent is contamination of the drinking water supply, which can be a considerable setback to a community,” Breau-Kelley said.

“We have a good supply of high-quality drinking water in Farmington,” Woodman said of the goal to keep it that way through planning and management.

The program was offered through a Wellhead Protection Grant the Water Department received from the Maine CDC Drinking Water Program, she said.

As with many communities, the local water department was started in 1850 for fire protection, to keep the town from burning. Once started, residents realized the need for good, safe drinking water, Breau-Kelley said.

Two wells, one 80 feet and the other 55 feet deep, serve about 4,000 people in the Farmington area, Woodman said. The deeper one is on the 100-acre field next to the Sandy River heading north from town toward Fairbanks. The field is owned by the Water Department. The smaller well is across the river off the Town Farm Road, she said. 

Reservoirs, including one in Flint Woods, one in Temple and a new one at Mt. Blue High School, hold about 5 million gallons of water in reserve. The new high school reservoir holds 400,000 gallons and gravity feeds it to the school.

If the town’s 93 miles of water pipes were laid end to end, they would reach Portland, but instead they service customers around Farmington and a few in Temple. The department also maintains 283 hydrants.

The water is tested monthly at five different locations at a state lab to ensure against high rates of bacteria, Woodman told the class.

The system has come a long way from the days of wooden pipes carrying water. Today, computers are used to alert department workers when and where a problem arises.

Breau-Kelley showed slides of Farmington’s wellhead protection zones, which are areas where the town limits growth of businesses such as gas stations that could jeopardize the water source.

She explained the water cycle and the importance of protecting water sources from things like oil spills, nitrates from fertilizers, and animal and human waste.

Shutting off the water while you are brushing your teeth saves four gallons of water, while showering instead of bathing saves 45 gallons. A running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water a day, she told the students.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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