What’s next for Montpelier’s water system?

The Deeper Dig

Montpelier residents put up with an unusually high number of water main breaks, which, in recent years, have led to boil water notices, expensive emergency repairs and school and business closures.

The city’s aging pipe system, some of it nearly a century old, is straining under unusually high water pressure — which in some locations is more than double the state standard. This is due to the system's unusual design, which relies on the force of gravity, rather than pumps, to push water through Montpelier’s downtown and back uphill to the city’s outskirts.

This year, state regulators instructed city officials to take a more robust, system-wide look at how to prevent pipes from bursting, starting with the water pressure. But local officials disagreed with this approach, arguing it was too expensive and ignored what they saw as more feasible solutions. City Manager Bill Fraser, and Kurt Motyka, who leads Montpelier’s Department of Public Works, have argued that the city should focus instead on replacing weak, corroded pipes with more resilient ones that can withstand the pressure.

After a back-and-forth over the city’s water permit, state regulators relaxed their request for a system-wide overhaul. But the question still looms: How will the city address its water infrastructure going forward, and what will it cost to do so?