NEW GLOUCESTER — A completed public water supply feasibility study for Upper Gloucester drew two dozen residents Wednesday to learn about preliminary steps under way to serve townspeople and businesses.

The proposed water system would serve up to 88 residences, as well as town facilities, Memorial School, manufacturers, day care centers, restaurants and clubs.

Underground gasoline storage tank failures identified in the 1980s in the Upper Village have led to the detection of benzene and/or MBTE in 22 Upper Village water supplies.

And, household filtering systems in 12 locations serve water supplies exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards for sodium and chloride. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection also provides filtering systems to households.

Memorial School on Route 231 has uranium levels twice the level of EPA drinking water standards and has filters in place.

Over the past several years, hydrogeologic and engineering consultant Drumlin Environmental LLC of Portland, under a contract funded jointly by the Maine DEP and the town, has completed comprehensive investigations and identified an underground water supply considered “excellent.”

Testing has been completed at the town-owned New Gloucester Fairgrounds, of a deep sand and gravel and bedrock aquifer that lies west of the Royal River with high water quality and a production rate of 60 gallons per minute, more than twice the anticipated demand.

Water from this aquifer requires minimal treatment to remove radon, Matt Reynolds of Drumlin Associates said.

Chris Swain, environmental specialist for the Maine DEP Division of Remediation said, “The health aspect is real and property values are impacted. Public water should be seriously considered.”

The agency has worked with residents and the town since the late 1980s.