Margaretsville group tackles water woes

By Heather Killen

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

An Annapolis County woman is hoping to use lessons learned from her community’s water woes to lead other communities into using less.

The Margaretsville Water Supply Committee was formed last fall to serve as a link between the community and the Municipality of Annapolis.

Amy Skelton, one of the volunteer committee members, said that a serious problem became apparent in mid-September when water shortages forced the Municipality of Annapolis to impose water consumption restrictions on Margaretsville residents.

“Heels were dug in on both sides,” she said. “There was a serious lack of cooperation on both sides.”

The water supply committee was formed by a group of residents to raise awareness in the community about the water supply and to help avoid future water shortages.

“We’ve been busy all this winter educating ourselves about the water system,” she said. “First we toured the water plant and learned about the supply and treatment process.”

Residents met again with municipal engineer Laurie Emms in February and went over the data that was taken to monitor user consumption and water conditions.

The municipality changed the system’s primary water supply, and is using the pond as a secondary source. Skelton said that this change should increase the amount of water that is available to residents; and it provides a better storage system than in previous years.

But unless user consumption is reduced, supply problems are likely to resurface.

She added that the committee members have a better understanding of the conditions that limit the community’s ability to find new water sources, and that the key to ensuring supply is to curb user consumption.

“We were very impressed with the records they’ve kept,” she said. “If we get another year like the last one, even with the new primary supply, we’ll be close to the line.”

The committee will be working over the coming months to keep residents informed about the status of the water supply, so that no one will be caught off guard again.

The members are also working to develop water conservation programs for the community, to help preserve the supply.

She added that even though most Margaretsville residents are conservative by most people’s standards in their water uses, there are still a number of ways to reduce the amount of water being wasted.

“I’m looking into ways to retrofit the community with super-energy efficient, low-flow toilets and shower heads,” she said. “I’m trying to access grant money to help offset the cost.”

The community has also applied for funding to hire a summer student from Acadia University to survey residents to find out what types of appliances and devices could be most beneficial in reducing water consumption.

“I think we’re all a bit guilty of wasting water,” she said. “I know last year I had a leaky faucet that I ignored, until I realized how much water was being wasted.”

Skelton added that in the future, conserving water will be of paramount concern to everyone and she hopes that her community can make some progress now and lead the way for other communities.

“We’re going to try and make this public, really spread the word,” she said. “Maybe we can do some good.”

For more information on the Margaretsville Water Supply Committee contact Amy Skelton at 825-1732.