Wednesday, June 5, 2002

Penobscot Nation supports Old Town tank dedication
Bangor Daily News                                                                                   Nancy Garland

OLD TOWN — A 500,000 gallon water tank dedicated Tuesday at the Jefferson Street tank site drew the leader of the Penobscot Nation and local and regional officials who unveiled a plaque and celebrated a unique collaboration that will benefit the 10,000 people who receive water services from the Old Town water district.

Barry Dana, chief of the Penobscot Nation, said the water tank’s funding and construction, “is just another example of how we as a tribal government can help in benefiting the lives of Maine residents as well as our own nation.

“Having that tower there really makes the whole system work much better for Old Town, Milford,” and other communities drawing water from the site, Dana said.

Attending the late morning ceremony were Ralph Nicola, Joe Loring and Fred Becker of the Penobscot Nation, Phil Rapp and Ken Grant of Indian Health Services, Stanton McGowen, Shawn Small and Donald Sturgeon, trustees of the Old Town Water District, Weston Haskell, Old Town Water District superintendent and a representative from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The project was funded by the Penobscot Nation, the EPA and Indian Health Services. The project consisted of $417,000 to build the standpipe and $150,000 to construct a “river crossing” which is a water pipe laid on the bed of the Penobscot River to feed the water to Indian Island.

There are now four water tanks standing at the site. Haskell said the oldest tank, which was put up in 1902, will be dismantled soon, leaving three 500,000 gallon tanks on the site.

Water is fed to the tanks from gravel wells in the area.

In 1997, the Penobscot Nation and the Old Town Water District began working on a new agreement to continue providing water service to Indian Island. The agreement was approved and signed in 1998, 100 years after public water began to be supplied to Indian Island. Various boards signed the agreement including the Penobscot Nation’s governing board, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Maine Public Utilities Commission and the Maine Department of Human Services.

Since the signing, the Penobscot Nation, the Old Town Water District, the EPA and Indian Health Services have worked together to build the standpipe and river-crossing.

The tank is an Aquastore, glass-lined bolted tank and was supplied and erected by New England Tank Systems of New York. Site work was provided by Lou Silver Inc., Veazie and project engineers were from AE Hodsdon, Waterville.


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