The Kittery Water District would like to recognize and thank the following entities and persons that came to our aid during our early morning emergency at our Francis Hatch Water Filtration Plant on the morning of December 29, 2021.
The York Water District, specifically Don Neumann, Ryan Lynch, Todd Hill and Larry Graham for activating the emergency interconnection and supplying the District with water for 9 1/2 hours. Without their assistance we would not have had enough water in our water storage tanks to provide enough water pressure to all of our customers or to provide adequate water for fire protection.
The Kennebunk, Kennebunk Port and Wells Water District, specifically Rob Weymouth, senior mechanic and facility manager. Rob was able to quickly diagnose the problem with the control valve that failed and created an action plan / materials list for its repair.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, specifically Lisa Laverdiere and Rick Dolce. These folks coordinated curtailment of water within the base to reduce their consumption during our emergency. Without their assistance we would not have been able to maintain adequate water pressure within our distribution system.
Last but not least, the staff of the Kittery Water District. This included Trustee Jim Golter who assisted Rob Weymouth with the disassembly of the valve actuator to diagnose the root of the problem. In addition 4 staff members that worked a 13 hour day and 6 other staff members that worked during the outage to bring the Filtration Plant back on line as quickly as possible.
In closing, emergencies can happen at any time, day, night, weekends and even on Holidays. It is reassuring to know that we have mutual aid agreements with our neighboring utilities, a very good working relationship with the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and dedicated staff that are there whenever they are called upon, especially during stressful times.
Michael S. Rogers, Superintendent
Kittery Water District