‘It’s just a trickle’

BRUNSWICK

Residents and management at Bay Bridge Estates are at odds over the water supply to the development.

Some residents of the mobile home park off Old Bath Road said they have been without running water for days. Others said their water pressure was normal and had not precluded any activities.

Dick Hathaway, the property manager, visited the homes of residents who called to complain they were out of water.

“Nobody is without water,” he said. “Some people are experiencing low water pressure.”

One Bay Bridge Estates resident who asked to remain anonymous, said, “It’s just a trickle. You’ve got to climb right under the shower head to get anything.”

Another resident who also requested anonymity said “a shower is out of the question most of the time, and I have to be careful when I run the washing machine.”

They described the water flow from their faucets as “not thicker than a pencil.”

A voice message left for tenants calling the property management office advises them to call the answering service if they are having a “complete out-of-water experience.”

Hathaway said he has been attempting to increase pressure at peak times by decreasing water output overnight and at other lowdemand times.

The community operates on a private system based off two wells, one at a depth of 469 feet and the other a depth of 605 feet, located by 101 Bay Bridge Road.

Bay Bridge personnel have been working to detect and repair a leak in the supply lines since Nov. 22, Hathaway said, and property management called for outside contractors to assist with leak detection as of Dec. 2, according to a recorded message.

Linda Swan, who is overseeing the situation from the corporate office, said, “It’s cer- tainly an inconvenience and we’re well aware of it,” but said water pressure should be sufficient to shower and run all appliances in every dwelling.

She said they had notified the Brunswick Fire Department, the Maine Rural Water Association and the Brunswick Water and Sewer District of the situation.

“It’s a long process,” Swan said. “We’re physically checking the connection to each mobile home, as well as the pipes.”

She said the soil at Bay Bridge Estates is sandy, making detection of the leak difficult, and that using leak detection equipment on rainy days is “nearly impossible.”

Swan said it is uncertain how long it will take to detect and repair the leak.

“It may be in an hour, it may be next Monday. We’re asking people to be patient with us and understand we’re doing everything possible,” she said.

Won award

In 2012, Bay Bridge Estates was awarded the Maine Rural Water Association’s annual Outstanding Small Water System award.

Prior to 2009, examinations of the water system by the Environmental Working Group found six contaminants in the water which tested below federal limits but above health guidelines, including arsenic, radium and radon.

TOLD: Linda Swan, who is overseeing the situation from the corporate office, said they had notified the Brunswick Fire Department, the Maine Rural Water Association and the Brunswick Water and Sewer District of the situation.

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