Barre Well Should Be Pumping Again by Thursday
Barre's well failure triggers emergency water trucking and a looming $4.6 million fix. The Select Board said a failed DPW well pump should be back online by Thursday after crews trucked in nearly 690,000 gallons of water from Templeton and Connecticut over the past week.
Select Board · Meeting of August 17, 2026
Barre's well failure triggers emergency water trucking and a looming $4.6 million fix. The Select Board said a failed DPW well pump should be back online by Thursday after crews trucked in nearly 690,000 gallons of water from Templeton and Connecticut over the past week. DPW water operator Dave Craven said the cleaned well now pumps over 200 gallons a minute, up from 70 before repairs, but Town Administrator Melanie Jackson said the town still needs a new well, estimated at $4.6 million, and is covering immediate costs with a roughly $200,000 short-term note while chasing a federal grant worth up to $1 million.
The board also finalized outreach coordinator Gina Pedersen's hire at $19 an hour and authorized Jackson to fix years of unposted minutes from Barre's commons and recreation committees. "This is a huge problem if the attorney general's office looks into this," Jackson said.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,491 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of August 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Members read the rest of this story and every Barre meeting we cover, in full.
Become a memberAlready a member? Sign inA 30-day free trial needs a payment method. After it, your membership renews at the price shown at checkout until you cancel, which you can do anytime from your account. Subscription terms
Share this story
Know someone in Barre who follows town government? Share Townbrief Barre: they can sign up free.