Latest news on water situation in Woodstock
This sinkhole in front of the Woodstock Recreation Center was caused by a water line break in Woodstock, Vt., early Thursday morning. (Woodstock Aqueduct Company Photo / Nate Billings)
A boil water order is in effect for all Woodstock Aqueduct customers until further notice, due to the impact of a water line break on Thursday in front of the Woodstock Recreation Center along Route 4.
However, the process that will lead to lifting that order is well underway, according to Nate Billings, the Woodstock Aqueduct Company's vice president and general manager. Billings said three water samples, each from different Woodstock Village locations, are being analyzed at Endyne Laboratories in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He expects to have results by 4:30 p.m. on Friday. If they come back confirmed as safe, the boil water order can be lifted.
"We're looking for them to come up absent, with no bacteria," Billings said Thursday night. "The samples have to sit for 24 hours before they test them."
From the very early hours of Thursday, Billings said his goal was to have the order lifted before Saturday, so everyone can resume normal water use by the weekend.
"That was my main goal from the beginning," he said.
As for the Recreation Center, it's planning to reopen on Tuesday, according to Executive Director Gail Devine. It took action early to address the water and clean-up inside.
"We hired Servpro, who came immediately and will continue to work on cleaning and drying through the weekend," she said by email.
The incident was first reported to Billings around 12:30 a.m. or 1 a.m. Thursday morning, after the maintenance person at the Recreation Center had seen water going into the building.
On the scene, Billings said the situation wasn't like anything he'd experienced before. The water surging toward the Rec was creating a sinkhole already.
"There was a deep hum and rumbling, it was unbelievable," Billings said.
He immediately coned off the area to keep traffic away, and thus began a very long night — and day. The process included crafting a plan in collaboration with the state's groundwater protection division. The water system was turned off by 4:30 a.m., though the western part of town continued to receive water from a million-gallon storage tank. Gurney Brothers Construction, of Springfield, was there from 8 a.m. to about 4 p.m. doing the repairs in front of the Rec.
Aqueduct customers saw their water service restored during the mid- to late-afternoon hours. However, the boil water order was still in effect, causing businesses to make adjustments.
"We provided drinking water in bottles for our guests," said Karim Houry, co-owner of The Woodstocker Bed & Breakfast, located near the Rec Center.
Given the great and sudden need that day, by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Mac's Market in Woodstock was out of bottled water.
Addressing one of the questions of the day, Billings said there was no way to be sure whether the road grinding of the Route 4 project was a factor in the water line break. He simply chalked it up to very old infrastructure, a problem which has been building.
Other recent events have put that infrastructure very much on the minds of local officials. Two water main breaks in the village occurred earlier this spring (though the Thursday incident did not involve a main line). The question now is whether federal relief money coming from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) can be used for much-needed upgrades system-wide. The Woodstock Aqueduct is privately run, but is the main local water source in the village, noted Jeff Kahn, chair of the Woodstock Village Trustees.
"We know the water system is ancient and crumbling, and needs serious work," Kahn said. "The big question we have is ... whether we can apply that (federal money) to a private company, as opposed to whether it needs to be a municipal company."
Billings said the line that broke this week is fully repaired, but when it comes to upgrading the entire system, federal money is the only feasible way. Rates were not an option, and that's true for water systems here and around the country, he added.
"It's really only going to be able to happen with federal funding," Billings said.
On Thursday afternoon, State Rep. Charlie Kimbell, who lives in Woodstock, said the town is estimated to be receiving $652,000 in ARPA funds targeted to municipalities, and $191,000 is expected for the village. Water and sewer projects are specifically mentioned as an allowed use, and there is great flexibility on when the money can be spent. Kimbell said he couldn't immediately find any ARPA restriction regarding funding going to a private utility that serves the public, but that's still being researched for confirmation.
Another possible source of funding could be the ARPA money that's going directly to the state government, about $1 billion. Gov. Phil Scott wants $170 million of that funding to go to clean water and sewer infrastructure projects. The next step is for lawmakers to propose how to spend the money.
"There's nothing from the House and Senate on that yet," Kimbell said.
A third possibility is some money the state received for capital projects, he added.
At the federal level, the Biden administration has proposed a major infrastructure plan totaling over $2 trillion, but it's unclear what the outcome of that will be at this early stage.
For now, the ARPA funding looks like the quickest fix, though Billings pointed out that the EPA has some robust grant programs available as well.
"Hopefully, somewhere in there, we'll be able to get something," he said.
— Gareth Henderson
May 3, 2021, update: The Woodstock Recreation Center will remain closed though at least May 10, 2021, due to extensive damage from the water line break. That date is an estimate and may change.
