Residents raise water taste and pipes concerns; town signals testing meets state standards

At the hearing several residents raised concerns about water taste, perceived rust and high bills. Frances Mock told the council, “The water is bad, the past 7 years my dog doesn’t even drink the water,” and said she was told pipes were old and rusty when she moved to town.

Town Manager Suzanne Harvey responded that the town posts a consumer confidence report and that annual testing is submitted to the state; she said, “our water is absolutely good.” SEAGO’s William Osborne explained that water‑system assessments, meter replacements and pipe repairs are typical eligible activities for CDBG, and he recommended using SSP for design or an assessment to strengthen a future implementation application.

Residents also proposed switching to smart meters that read by hundreds of gallons to improve billing equity and leak detection. Osborne noted that many rural towns pair meter replacement with targeted main replacements and that project readiness (designs and environmental reviews) improves competitiveness.