ROCHESTER — The Rochester Select Board approved to contribute $10,000 of funds granted by SEMASS  to monitor water flow out of Snipatuit Pond during a Select Board meeting on Wednesday, June 21. 

The funds granted to the project will be put towards a hydrological study, said Town Planner Nancy Durfee. According to the United States Geological Survey, a hydrological study examines the movement of both surface and groundwater.

According to Durfee, the study is needed because there are two directions of water flow out of Snipatuit Pond, one towards the Taunton watershed and the other towards the Buzzards Bay watershed.

Durfee said that normally “water flow does not  generally change [direction] from watershed to watershed.”  This could affect the community’s water supply, she added.

“Without doing proper monitoring we won’t know why that’s happening and how often and if [Rochester] is losing water supply,” said Durfee. 

According to Durfee,$20,000 in funds for the project came from ARPA funding. Durfee said that the fundraising goal for the project is $50,000 but “could manage with the $30,000” that was reached by the Select Board’s allocation of funds granted to the town by SEMASS. 

The money will be used to purchase flow gauges and a well to complete the study.

“We are trying to make sure that we are being responsible and understanding a very unique but also very important resource for the community,” said Durfee. 

Select Board Vice Chair Brad Morse asks why surrounding towns such as Mattapoisett, Fairhaven and Marion have not pitched in to help with the funds considering Rochester shares its water supply  with surrounding towns. 

“There wasn’t a direct ask for them to participate,” said Durfee referencing previous conversations she’s had about the project with other town boards. “It was more to find out how much water they continue to want to acquire in the future.”

Both the Select Board and Durfee shared concerns about the current state of the town’s water supply. 

“If water is flowing in the opposite direction, [the concern is] how much of that water is leaving and how we can remedy it.”

Durfee added that the project which will begin “as soon as possible”  is in need of volunteers to help monitor the direction of water flow. Interested volunteers should reach out to Durfee at ndurfee@townofrochester.com or (508) 763-5421 Ext. 208.

“This is just the beginning,” said Durfee. “We are just learning what the data will provide us.”