Tree clearing begins next week at sites of upcoming water supply work in Dover and Somersworth

posted on: 2/21/2019

Crews preparing for major water infrastructure projects this spring will begin clearing trees and brush at the site of Dover’s Smith and Cummings well on Monday, Feb. 25, 2019. The well’s boundaries span several acres adjacent to the Spaulding Turnpike, Central Avenue and Indian Brook Crossing. The work will continue toward Webb Place in the following weeks.

Also on Feb. 25, surveying work will begin at Willand Pond, with tree and brush clearing scheduled to begin at that location the following week.

This initial work is to prepare the sites for water facilities improvements and construction in Dover and Somersworth this spring. That work includes well improvements and the construction of a 5,500-foot transmission main on New Rochester Road (Route 108). The transmission main will connect newly constructed wells on the city’s north end with the Lowell Avenue Water Treatment Facility.

In addition, a new water main will be constructed on the north side of Willand Pond and connect the water supply between Dover and Somersworth, in case of an emergency. The city councils in Dover and Somersworth approved the work earlier this year.

These improvements will add about 850,000 gallons of water capacity in Dover each day.
Construction will begin this spring and continue through December 2019. While construction is under way, access to Willand Pond from New Rochester Road in Dover will be restricted. Recreational access to Willand Pond will remain open from High Street in Somersworth.

The nearly $12 million project is being funded by a $9.1 million low-interest loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, which allows 10 percent of the debt to be forgiven, and a $2.6 million grant from the New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund.

The project engineer is Underwood Engineers of Portsmouth.

More information can be found online, including a project information sheet and map.

For more information, call Community Services at 516-6450.