In the 14 years Jon Ziegra has managed the Boothbay Region Water District, this is the first year the seasonal turn-on might not make the May 1 deadline.

By late March the ground should be thawed, but this year's well below average temperatures have kept the water lines buried under snow, as if the Boothbay region has been permanently encased in some cruel kid's frosty snow globe.

As Portland set the coldest temperature for March 24 at 11 F, the Boothbay Region Water District is now in record territory. Compared to two years ago, the district's seasonal turn-on time was April 13, and April 15 last year. Ziegra said this year he guarantees that's not going to happen.

“Believe me, this is not something we want to do,” Ziegra said. “Obviously people call and justifiably so. They're concerned, and that's just another burden on top of it. The longer we go, the louder it gets here.”

The water district's infrastructure comprises 70 percent seasonal mains and 30 percent year-round mains, Zeigra said. However the district's customer service base is split about 50/50 with the seasonal customers slightly outnumbering the year-round customers.

Unfortunately, turning on the water isn't as simple as “cracking a valve,” Ziegra said. Even if the region were to have a warm spell of good weather, there is at least a solid month of preparation and repairs required before the water can start flowing again.

Public water supply can be considered one of society's most basic building blocks. It's what drives the economy, Ziegra said. So suddenly not having water could have repercussions on seasonal properties and vacation rentals that rely on business in mid-April.

“I understand people are itching to get back up to Maine,” Ziegra said. “The last thing I want is someone to show up here expecting water and landing at their cottage and not having anything for up to a week. I mean that just stinks.”

Despite the setback, the impact of postponing seasonal service seems minimal, at least according to Lucy Cressey, a vacation specialist for Cottage Connections in Boothbay. Cottage Connections oversees between 85 and 100 cottages at any given time.

“Most of our vacation owners are not scheduled to come up until mid-May or Memorial Day to open up their cottages, so I don't think it's going to have that much of an adverse effect on us,” Cressey said.

Many other restaurants, merchants and outlying lodging services either have year-round water supply, or don't open until mid-May, according to business records obtained from the Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce.

While the water district patiently plays the waiting game with Mother Nature, Ziegra advised customers to look for updates and progress reports on the district's website, www.bbrwd.org.