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Norway, Maine
Background
Norway is a small town in southwestern Maine, part of a geographically-linked tri-
town area together with South Paris and Oxford. In 1965, Norway installed its
single municipal ground water well, slightly less than one-half mile beyond its
border, in the Town of Oxford. Location of the well outside of Norway's
jurisdiction has recently presented some major challenges with respect to source
water protection. When the well was installed, Norway and the surrounding area
was mostly farmland; however, the region has developed quickly in the last few
decades. The zone around the well in question is now a commercial area that
contains several gas stations, restaurants, and other businesses associated with rapid
commercial development. Such development jeopardizes the quality of the town's
water, and the inability of Norway to regulate the growth surrounding the well is
frustrating to those working to preserve the purity of the town's drinking water.
Local Involvement and Developing the Protection Plan
Because Norway's water supply well is located in another town, it was necessary for
Norway to develop a local team approach to protect its water supply. Norway, South
Paris and Oxford all agreed to hold public meetings to discuss drinking water protection.
Several public meetings were held in 1994 in all three towns for general input on
development of the Source Water Protection Plan, including development of a Wellhead
Protection (WHP) ordinance. The ordinance was presented to each of the three towns for
a vote and was passed in all three. Educational materials were distributed to homeowners
regarding ground water protection.
Management Measures
In 1988, Norway began the process of developing a wellhead protection study of the area
around its well. In cooperation with Oxford and South Paris, and with assistance from
the Maine Rural Water Association, Norway acquired grants and established a framework
for program initiatives. A hydrogeological firm was hired to assist the town in
delineating the well's zone of contribution. Three zones were delineated based on time-
of-travel (TOT) calculations. Zone I has a 200-day TOT, Zone II a 1,000-day TOT, and
Zone III a 2,500-day TOT.
This planning and foresight worked to the town's considerable advantage, when, in 1990,
gasoline was discovered leaking from an underground storage tank just 600 feet from the
municipal well. Fortunately, the wellhead protection area had already been characterized
and contingency measures had been planned. Consequently, the Town of Norway,
together with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, was able to determine
the nature of the contamination and quickly shut down the well to contain the plume of
fuel-related compounds. Thanks to the earlier wellhead protection study, considerable
information on aquifer conditions was available in the area of the Norway well. The
quick response prevented contamination from affecting the well; in fact, no
contamination was ever detected at the well. As a precaution, and to avoid drawing the
contaminant plume closer, the well was shut down for 15 months, while the
contamination was pumped, and the water treated until clean and returned to the nearby
river. During that period, the Norway Water Department purchased water from the Town
of South Paris via a preexisting water connection, through a contingency agreement that
had been reached before the emergency.
After the contamination incident was resolved, the Town of Norway continued with its
wellhead protection efforts. Educational materials were developed to inform
homeowners and businesses about steps to protect ground water. In addition, a Wellhead
Protection Ordinance was passed, modeled after a generic ordinance developed through
an EPA Wellhead Demonstration Grant Project. This ordinance protects portions of the
wellhead protection area within Norway town limits by regulating priority land uses.
Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been recommended for potential contaminant
sources in the area. The Town of South Paris has adopted a similar ordinance to protect
source water within its jurisdiction. The long-term vision is that each district within the
tri-town area will agree to a requirement to notify the others when any threatening actions
or events occur within the WHP area.
Contingency Planning
In addition to the agreements with South Paris and Oxford to purchase drinking water in
case of an emergency, Norway has persuaded the Town of Oxford to equip all fire trucks
with absorbent padding in the event of an accidental spill in the vicinity of the well, and
to alert the Norway Water Department (NWD) if a spill occurs. For its part, Norway
performs a comprehensive set of water quality analyses of six monitoring wells located
around its municipal well during the spring and fall. If NWD officials suspect that the
well is in danger, then monitoring may be performed more frequently. Future plans
include a requirement under the Source Water Protection Program that each water district
inform the others when any action or event occurs within the WHP area which could
damage water quality.
Measuring Program Effectiveness
The effectiveness of Norway's drinking water protection program is measured both by
regular monitoring of water quality and by the effectiveness of the town's response to
accidents and other emergencies. Monitoring wells are checked twice per year to ensure
continued program effectiveness. Surveys of potential sources of contamination are
performed and updated periodically. Program effectiveness was demonstrated through
the quick and effective response to an accidental gasoline spill that occurred in 1990.
Rapid remedial action was possible, due to the extensive information that had been
gathered through the source water protection program prior to the accident.
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For further information contact: |
David MacDonald, General
Manager
Norway and Oxford Maine Water Districts
(207) 743-2414
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