The Portland Water District is currently testing the groundwater around Otter Ponds in Standish to determine the availability of additional supplies of useable water. The water could be a source for expanded demand or as a backup to Sebago Lake should an emergency occur.

The town of Standish has responded positively to the news of the drilling.

“The opportunity for the Water District to find another source of water other than the surface of Sebago Lake is a welcomed approach,” Town Manager Gordon Billington said.

The district is drilling a series of three to five test wells along the shore areas. To access the drilling sites, existing woods roads will be used where possible, and in areas where necessary the District will make temporary openings in the fence along Route 35.

The District supplies water to about 47,000 customers in the Greater Portland area. That translates to nearly 200,000 people in 11 area communities including Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, Falmouth, Gorham, Portland, Raymond, Scarborough, South Portland, Standish, Westbrook and Windham.

In a letter to the Town of Standish last December, Jay Hewitt, Portland Water District chief engineer, said, “There are two reasons for the tests. First, the District wants to see if there is sufficient groundwater to provide a suitable emergency water supply in the event the District’s intakes, pumping, or treatment facilities become unavailable through natural or man-made disaster. In such an event, the supply would provide safe, temporary drinking water to the District’s distribution system while regular systems were repaired or replaced.”

He added that “the second reason is to assess what additional water resources are available for future use. As Greater Portland continues to grow, our existing intake and treatment capacity will need augmentation. Groundwater resources may provide this augmentation, and extend the useful life of the existing facilities.”

District spokesperson Michelle Clements said, “We will be looking at quality issues as well as flow data. We are concerned about the site of the former Standish dump. Our drilling won’t begin until we have our erosion control measures in place. We practice what we preach, when it comes to protecting the water supply from contamination.”