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26 <br /> Commissioner McKee asked at what depth they hit water. <br /> Ward Marotti said in the 30-foot zone from the surface and the total well depth is 600 <br /> feet. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked if the 30 feet was in soil or rock. <br /> Ward Marotti said it was saprolite and bedrock. <br /> Commissioner McKee said that water vein is connecting throughout the system, and any <br /> water that is drawn down might affect the surrounding area. <br /> Ward Marotti said he believed that by sampling 6 months a part speaks to the conditions <br /> and that the data that meets the state's requirements should also speak to it. <br /> Commissioner Greene referred to Planning Board meeting minutes included in the <br /> agenda packet. She quoted Ward Marotti's comments, "We actually drilled two wells for this <br /> site, one of which came up with no water, didn't hit an aquifer, but there was geologic data <br /> associated with that. And based on that, it's likely that these are not even touching the same <br /> water tables or aquifers, rather." She asked what the geologic data was. <br /> Ward Marotti said it's a series of veins, a lot of which are connected, some of which may <br /> not be. He said the location that they did not hit water at was a location that didn't have a vein <br /> running through it. <br /> Commissioner Carter asked about the timing of the study and its occurrence after a <br /> major flood event. She said that she and Commissioner Portie-Ascott visited the property and <br /> met the property owner. <br /> Ward Marotti said in the context of the impacts to the water table in general and the <br /> surficial aquifer in the area, and in looking at the ambient data of the adjacent wells, there was <br /> no spike or drop that was substantive nor tied from a timeline perspective to that precipitation <br /> event. He said that the short answer is that he didn't think so. <br /> Vice-Chair Hamilton asked how long a typical water vein might be. <br /> Ward Marotti said it varies and he could not answer that question. <br /> Vice-Chair Hamilton said a question is the effect of drawing water on the surrounding <br /> community. She said they tested two wells, but there are 74 properties within 1,000 feet and <br /> what is the impact on those other wells. She said they don't have a good understanding of the <br /> hydrology and its impact on others. She said if there is a failure it would be hard to fix. <br /> Ward Marotti said this is where the state models come into play because they consider <br /> the typical conditions in substrates in the Piedmont. He said that's what those models are there <br /> for, to extrapolate from the raw data. <br /> Donna Browder said a better word to use is predict. She said the tool is used to predict <br /> how a well is going to be impacted at different distances. She said when you enter your data <br /> you are using a state program to predict the impacts. <br /> Ward Marotti said those models are based on real data collection and measured results. <br /> Beth Trahos said this is an early stage of development and the information on well <br /> testing is more than what is required, and it is supportive of allowing the project to move <br /> forward. She suggested that the 74 adjacent property owners likely did not test the impact of <br /> their wells on the property owners of the site. <br /> Chair Bedford asked if the site is on the Hyco formation, and referred to information <br /> shared in the packet. <br /> Ward Marotti said that is the geologic formation that the site is on. <br /> Chair Bedford said the sentence ends with "and this certainly explains the poor and <br /> variable yield." She said she wants to understand that. <br /> Donna Browder said this is the type of rock and substrate in the whole area, not the <br /> proposed site specifically. She said she thought this part was giving a description of the area in <br /> general. <br />