Wareham Fire District voters approved the spending of $500,000 to pay for permitting, construction, engineering, and design improvements to existing wells, which will be incorporated into a planned water treatment plant, during the district's annual meeting on Monday, April 8.

The treatment plant will treat water from a yet-to-be-built well in Maple Park, as well as five other nearby wells, explained Water Department Superintendent Michael Martin.

Voters approved $3 million for the project at the 2010 annual district meeting. The well project has been in the works for seven years.

Martin says the new well is expected to go online in 2014. The Water Department is aiming to have the treatment plant up and running in 2014 or 2015, Martin said.

"We've got the well approved by the Department of Environmental Protection. ... The original $3 million was for engineering, permitting, and construction of certain aspects of the well," Martin explained. "The next major expenditure is to design and construct the actual well ... and bring the water main and electricity there."

According to Martin, the additional $500,000 will bring technology to the existing Maple Springs well, and those improvements will be incorporated into the future treatment plant.

Martin says that it's not yet clear how much the project will ultimately cost.

The Maple Springs, Maple Park, and Seawood Springs wells have all had water quality issues recently, and the treatment plant will take care of some of those wells.

One of the wells has bacteria issues that led to it being taken out of service, due to the contamination placing it in violation of the federal Ground Water Rule. The Ground Water Rule was established to protect consumers from diseases that may be caused by certain microorganisms in drinking water.

Maple Springs Well #1 was taken offline in August 2012, after E. Coli bacteria was discovered.

The wells on Maple Springs Road have shown increasing levels of iron and manganese.  This causes discoloration, making the water in the mains turn a dark red.

Currently, the Water Department is treating the water quality issues with chlorination, but a treatment plant will offer a more permanent solution. The plant will treat water from the Maple Park and the Maple Springs well sites.

Maple Springs Wells 1-4 are currently being treated with chlorine, as are Seawood Springs Wells 6-8.

"That's to take care of our discolored water,"  Prudential Committee Chair George Barrett said of the chlorine treatments.

Barrett said that the discoloration, while unpleasant, is not a danger to consumers.

Voters also approved an article that will allow the district to spend no more than $550,000 to purchase 70 acres of land from an abutter for the purpose of relocating the water main and utilities to Woods Road. The district is also seeking an easement from the abutter to move the Maple Springs well 220 feet west of where it now sits.

The district is also seeking an easement that will allow it to bring water and utilities from Woods Road to the Maple Springs well field.

According to Martin, the district is currently in discussions with the landowners to either attain an easement, or to buy the land outright. The process stalled when the property was foreclosed upon, and negotiations had to start over with the new owners.

Martin says the district does not plan to spend any more money on the engineering portion of the project until the land issues are resolved.

These actions are part of a three-year "Phased Action Plan" proposed by the district to improve water quality in the aforementioned wells, and to bring them in line with Department of Environmental Protection regulations.

Martin says that it hasn't been easy, but when all is said and done, the project will be done right.

"Slow and steady," he said. "The proverbial one step forward, half a step backward."

Elsewhere at the annual meeting, voters approved a budget of approximately $4.7 million for the Wareham Fire Department, and a budget of approximately $3.8 million for the Water Department.

Also approved was $36,000 to purchase a support vehicle and related accessories for the Wareham Fire Department. The vehicle will replace a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria, which has been taken out of service due to excessive rot on the frame as well as wear and tear on the suspension and brake lines.

The $36,000 takes into account the cost of lights, lettering, radios, and labor.

District voters also approved $49,000 to purchase a vehicle for the Master Mechanic, to replace a 2001 Chevrolet 3500 4x4 truck. The vehicle was due to be replaced in fiscal year 2011.