District to investigate why Scarborough middle school uses twice as much water as other schools

Superintendent Dave Hughes told trustees Scarborough Public Schools requested letters of ability to serve for additions at several schools; all but the middle school fall within existing allocations. He said the middle school is using about twice the water of the other schools and that preliminary suspicion is a leaking cooling tower.

Hughes said he will meet school staff at the middle school (planned Oct. 7) and that the school district is considering installing a submeter on the suspected cooling‑tower system to determine whether the leak is causing the increased water use. The board was told the final capacity reserve fee, if any, will depend on the investigation's findings.