The company's offer is in response to a small amount of the chemical 1,4 dioxane, which was found about two years ago in four wells on Morgan Street.
GRANBY – Waste Management Inc., the company that owns the Granby landfill, has offered to pay $5,000 to each of the 24 homeowners on Morgan Street if they agree to replace their wells with piped-in water, according to Michael Pandora, chair of the Granby Board of Health.
That adds up to about 10 years’ worth of water bills. Waste Management would also cover the costs of installing a pipe, and would add the cash after the whole project was finished, according to Pandora.
“You’d be crazy not to jump on the deal,” said Donald Dusseault, a Morgan Street resident. Dusseault cites testing and pump replacement costs, and in some cases low water pressure, as reasons he would abandon his well.
Waste Management’s offer is in response to a small amount of the chemical 1,4 dioxane, which was found about two years ago in four wells on Morgan Street.
The amount is small enough that in some states it would not be a problem, but Massachusetts has unusually high standards, said Pandora.
It was discovered because Morgan Street is located next to the landfill, and for this reason Waste Management tests wells routinely. “The site has a comprehensive environmental monitoring station,” said Bob Magnussen, a spokesman for the company.
In addition to testing, Waste Management has also been supplying bottled water to the four affected homes since 2009.
At a meeting of residents with members of the Granby Board of Health and Selectboard last week, people seemed eager for the water line work to proceed, said Magnussen.
“The residents have been very receptive to our surveyors and engineers,” he said.
Fifteen residents have signed up, and Waste Management has been trying to get in touch with the others.
“The hope is to have all 24 households hooked up to the water pipe,” said Pandora, who next meets with his board on August 1.
"We’re very anxious for it to start,” said Joanne Tremblay, a Morgan Street resident.