Chair: Joel Griffith
Contact: water@greathawk.org
If your home has no water or you have another water-related emergency, please contact Jim Hybl at hyblservice@gmail.com, or call him at (802) 767-3900.
Overview of the GHOA Cooperative Water Systems
The GHOA cooperative water system (CWS) consists of 28 sub-systems, which supply water to a total of 67 homes. Between one and four homes are connected to each sub-system, which includes one well equipped with a submersible pump, a pressure tank (to reduce variations in water pressure), electrical switches controlling pressure in the system, and pipes supplying water to the homes. If several homes belong to one sub-system, the well is connected directly to a “control house,” which supplies water to the rest of the homes in parallel, through an independent valve called a “curb-stop.”
The current setup is the result of improvements to the original CWS, which was built in the 1970s. These improvements, initiated by former water czar Val Zemelman, have reduced the number of homes connected to each well, shortened water lines, and thus reduced the amount and cost of maintenance. Nevertheless, the CWS is a complicated system that requires considerable annual maintenance.
To ensure that the water is safe to drink, the CWS annually tests each sub-system for coliform, a bacterial indicator of the sanitary quality of water. A water sample is taken from one home on each sub-system, usually the control house, to test the quality of water from the well. It is sent to a private laboratory for testing. If a sample tests positive for total coliform bacteria, all homeowners on the sub-system are immediately notified, the well is chlorinated, and after chlorination the sub-system is resampled to ensure that the water is clean. Homeowners are notified as soon as a negative test confirms the absence of coliform bacteria.
Contact Information
Chair: Christian Jacqz
Email: water@greathawk.org