State seeks federal aid for drought

The number of wells that have gone dry in Maine is more than 10 times higher than state officials had estimated, according to survey results the state included Wednesday in its application to the federal government for drought disaster assistance.

About 17,000 household wells have likely gone dry in the past six months, according to a survey paid for by the state and conducted by Market Decisions of South Portland. State officials long have said they believed that at least 2,000 household wells had gone dry because of the drought, although the Maine Emergency Management Agency has confirmation that only 750 wells have gone dry.

The poll was part of an effort to obtain federal funds to help victims of the drought.

The higher numbers were calculated based on the results of telephone surveys of 784 people, 422 of whom said they relied on wells for their water. More than half the population of nonmetropolitan areas – 54 percent – said they used private wells for their drinking water supply.

If these numbers are generalized, it means between 234,000 and 251,000 households outside of metropolitan areas have wells. The survey did not include Augusta, Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn and Portland, because it was assumed that residents of metropolitan areas do not have wells. These cities make up 14 percent of the state’s population.

Seven percent of those asked during the late March survey said that their well had gone dry at some time since June 2001. If that is generalized to the entire population of well owners, that means between 16,599 and 17,372 wells have gone dry, Market Decisions concluded.

“It’s a serious situation for Maine,” said Tony Sprague, Gov. Angus King’s spokesman. “The one thing people expect in their house is clean, safe water. For those who don’t have it, it’s a major inconvenience and burden.”

One percent of wells are now dry, and 8 percent have low levels of water, according to the survey, which has a margin of error of 5 percent. The poll found, however, that 48 percent of those asked said the water level in their wells was adequate, while 19 percent said it was high. Twenty-four percent did not know the level of water in their wells.

Wells in the central and northern parts of the state were slightly more likely to have a low level of water. In central Maine, 10 percent of wells were low as were 9 percent in northern Maine. It is likely there are more dug, shallow wells in these parts of the state.

In southern Maine, 7 percent of wells reportedly had low water levels, as did 5 percent of wells in coastal Maine.

For this survey, central Maine consisted of Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec and Oxford counties, northern Maine was Aroostook, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington counties, and coastal Maine was made up of Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Waldo counties. Cumberland and York counties constituted southern Maine.

The highest percentage of wells – 19 percent – began running dry in August and October. Only 3 percent began to dry up in March.

Such numbers are sobering, said Lynette Miller of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, which commissioned the survey because it felt its numbers were not telling the whole story.

“We knew there was a problem, but it was hard to pin it down,” she said.

The state hopes the survey numbers bolster its case for emergency disaster aid to help well owners cope with the continuing lack of water. On Wednesday, Gov. King formally submitted a request for such aid to President Bush.

“I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and the affected local governments and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary,” King wrote.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has never given federal assistance in the case of a drought. Such aid typically goes to communities damaged by hurricanes, floods and tornadoes. Last year, Maine was the only state in the nation to set a record for lack of precipitation. The 29 inches of rain and snow that fell in 2001 was 2 inches less than the previous record, which was set in 1965.

Officials from the agency were in the state recently to assess the situation.

Miller estimates it will take FEMA several weeks to make a decision on Maine’s application, because it is a complex situation.

If the state were declared a federal disaster area, small businesses, municipal facilities and individuals might be eligible for assistance in the form of grants and loans.

Individuals who apply for assistance must meet certain criteria, such as income guidelines, and must allow an inspector to come to their homes to assess the situation. In its application to FEMA, the state suggested that lack of water at a home qualified as damage to the home, and that a municipal water system that was unable to provide water for consumption, fire protection and other uses was essentially a damaged facility, Miller said.

The state estimates that more than $5.2 million in damage – the minimum threshold the state must show to qualify for federal assistance – has been or will be incurred by municipal facilities such as schools and town offices, she said.

Individual expenses that could be covered by FEMA aid include moving expenses, medical expenses related to the drought, and costs to transport or get access to water.

Many of the wells that have gone dry are likely dug wells, which are typically only about 20 feet deep. Of the total number of private wells in the state, 18 percent are dug, while 71 percent are drilled.

Fifteen percent of respondents with dug wells said they had gone dry in the past nine months, compared to 7 percent of drilled-well owners.

While 7 percent of wells statewide were reported to have gone dry in the past nine months, 11 percent of wells had gone dry before June 11, according to the survey. Of these, 61 percent went dry more than two years ago, before the current drought began.

The poll also found that concern about the drought is widespread. More than three-quarters of those asked said they were concerned about the lack of snowfall and rain.