I am writing this letter to urge Belmont voters to vote no on Article 2 of the town warrant. Article 2 asks Belmont residents to raise $3.1 million to treat our water for iron and manganese, as well as rehabilitate well No. 1.
I have some important and relevant information to share with my fellow voters. I was contacted by a Belmont resident who happens to own a high-output well just up the road from our existing wells. He shared some of his formal documentation that was used to characterize the water quality. In particular, I found this well very interesting since the water from his well comes from bedrock verses the stratified drift aquifer supporting the current Belmont wells. Common sense tells me that this well would be a significant asset if our existing water supply should ever become compromised.
As our discussion was concluding and my interest was piqued, I asked the well owner if he had ever been approached by the town. His response was an unequivocal no.
In my opinion, for the reasons listed above, we should give the Belmont taxpayers and water users another year to look at more feasible solutions for improving our water supply. Certainly, a solution that would provide some level of risk mitigation for the current water supply is worthy of further analysis and evaluation.
Remember, there are 3.1 million reasons why all votes count on Article 2.
KEVIN STURGEON
Belmont