District Requests Further Funding For Damaged Water Main

     Bourne Water District wants more money from the town to help cover the costs of replacing a water main damaged in the dredging of the channel between Monument Beach and Tobey Island.  
     Brian S. Handy, chairman of the Bourne Water District board of commissioners, wrote in a letter addressed to the board of selectmen that he believed the town has a greater responsibility for the damage of the main than they have borne financially.
     Mr. Handy told selectmen that the water district had only had a few days to find the water main that runs from Monument Beach to Tobey Island before the dredging project began. He said that because the pipe was so old, originally installed in 1951, the water district was unable to accurately determine its location. He went on to say that when the dredging project began, the town proceeded based on information from a water easement that inaccurately placed the water main closer to the Tobey Island Bridge than it actually was.
     “Had we been given time to get permits to dig in the marsh we may have been able to locate the main and avert the expense of the repair,” Mr. Handy said.
     The town has already subsidized the cost of the $73,000 water main repair project by $18,000.
     However, because of its role in breaking the main, Mr. Handy said, the town should pay more.
     “As representatives of the people of our district, we are obligated to ask if the town would consider further participation to defray the impact to our ratepayers,” he said.  
     The remaining costs of the water main repair have already been paid for out of the district’s reserves.
     Ralph M. Marks, superintendent of the Bourne Water District, said he was grateful for the money the district has already received from the town and said the town had installed an additional water main above and beyond what was needed for the repair.
     He added that there probably would be no direct financial impact on ratepayers in the coming fiscal year, as the district’s reserve account is healthy.
     However, he said that he agreed with the district’s board of commissioners that the town should pay more.
     “Personally, my problem was that I could not locate the pipe, and there are ways that I could have found it if we had more time,” he said. “We were working blind throughout the entire project.”
     Town Administrator Thomas M. Guerino said that the town has already fulfilled its obligation to the water district, and he would not recommend the board of selectmen further subsidize the repair project.
     “We’ve done due diligence,” Mr. Guerino said.
     Jamie J. Sloniecki, vice chairman of the board of selectmen, said the board hasn’t yet had an in-depth discussion about the town’s responsibility for the water main repair. However, he said that at this point his decision as to whether the town would increase its contribution hinged on who was responsible for producing the water easement map that inaccurately showed the location of the pipe.
     “For me, at this point, it comes down to who did the mapping,” Mr. Sloniecki said. “If the town paid somebody to produce the map, then I feel it should be the responsibility of whoever produced the map,” he said. “If the town produced the map, then my first thought would be that the town is accountable.”
     Mr. Sloniecki said that the age of the pipes that were damaged would also factor into his decision of how much more, if anything, the town gave the district.
     “Those pipes may have needed to be repaired anyway,” he said. “Considering the age of those pipes, I don’t think we should have to pay the cost for brand new ones.”