WELLS, Maine — Beachgoers in Wells this month have encountered multiple beach closures in Wells Harbor. According to town officials, a sewer line running through the harbor has been struck by boats, causing a brief break in the sewer line.
"The pipe is floating enough so that boats occasionally are hitting it and causing the joints to break," Wells Interim Town Manager Bill Giroux said.
According to Giroux, crews have had to fix the line three times this summer after it was struck by boats. According to town officials, the line was first installed in 1978, several feet below the bottom of the harbor. They say over time, the line's anchoring has eroded, and it now floats near the surface of the water.
After each strike, town officials have placed signs closing portions of the harbor to swimming, fishing, and shellfish harvesting. The line is maintained by the Wells Sanitary District. Town officials say WSD crews have shut off the line and used an alternative one to prevent sewage from spilling into the harbor.
"None of the tests met the hazardous standard," Giroux said. WSD Superintendent Nick Rico, who was unavailable for an on-camera interview on Tuesday, added that all tests following breaks showed no threat to public safety.
"The outer beaches have stayed open the whole time, and we've tested those constantly. The inner beach, we shut it down initially just to be careful, but there really was no need to," Giroux said.
Town officials say the Wells Harbormaster has now installed red and green moorings to direct boaters away from the floating line.
There is also a plan in place to replace the line through the harbor this fall; however, WSD and town officials are working to start that sooner.
Despite quick work by town officials to address public health concerns and fix the line, it's having an impact on local businesses. Brandy McCurry runs Webhannet River Boat Yard alongside her husband. She said because of the closures, they've had to halt kayak rentals during some of the busiest weekends of the year.
"We lose revenue because we can't rent the kayaks, but also, there's a public opinion of Maine's clean waterways and how beautiful it is here and how clean it is and how safe it is. So people start to lose faith in that, especially when it's happened multiple times," McCurry said. "The town has done the best they can to alleviate the situation."
The City of Wells and Wells Police Department's social media pages provide frequent updates on any closures of the harbor.