The water flowed through Boothbay region just in time for the Fishermen's Festival. Despite enduring one of the harshest winters in recent memory, the Boothbay Region Water District's distribution crew rallied in overtime, and by April 23, the seasonal mains were running a week earlier than predicted.

“Hats off to my crew. They did a great job,” Manager Jon Ziegra said. “We deferred a lot of maintenance, so there is going to be some spot shutdowns for the next couple of weeks to seasonal customers.”

The severity of this winter's weather caused significant damage to the seasonal water mains, including frozen valves and blown meters, Ziegra said. But the distribution crew “bandaged” up the breaks temporarily, in order to meet the May 1 seasonal turn-on deadline.

Ziegra said this year's winter will cost several thousand dollars in repairs, so seasonal customers can expect minor delays in the next few weeks lasting up to a couple of minutes of reduced water pressure, as the crew catches up with the maintenance.

While conveniences can often taken for granted, turning on the seasonal water isn't as simple as cracking a valve, Ziegra said. All the lines must be pressure tested for leaks first, and then disinfected with chlorine to kill the bacteria. Then the water district flushes the lines to clear the chlorine so the water is potable.

Water samples are then collected and processed at a lab in Rockland to make sure bacteria and chloroform levels are at a safe level. Once the test results come back clean, the distribution crew can start installing meters; 1,600 to 1,800 are deployed throughout the Boothbay region.

The whole start-up process takes time, Ziegra said, but after this winter ended, the hardest part was already over.

“We're out of the woods now,” Ziegra said. “We're doing well.”