This information has been passed along to the Town of Maidstone, through our health officer: (Using Water From Springs Notice)
Hello Town Health Officers,
As you are probably aware, Vermont is in a drought. Many private drinking water wells and springs are running dry, so people are seeking sources of water, including roadside springs. Roadside springs are not tested by the State and are not considered a safe source of drinking water. We are reaching out to Town Health officers to help post signs at roadside springs and inform people to use them with caution.
If you know of a roadside spring in your area, please post the attached sign and encourage residents to follow our guidance on how to use water from roadside springs as safely as possible. Signs at roadside springs are sometimes taken down, so ideally you would check back in on the signs periodically.
Below is our guidance on the safe uses of roadside springs. This guidance is also on our website at www.HealthVermont.gov/water/drought, where there is more information for people who are on private wells and springs who are impacted by the drought.
We have also shared information about roadside springs with town emergency management directors and asked them to identify safe drinking water sources for their communities. If anyone in your community is looking for safe sources of drinking water, they can reach out to their town’s emergency management director.
We also encourage you to coordinate with your town’s emergency management director to share information about how to safely use roadside springs and where to find safe sources of drinking water on your town’s website, social media, or Front Porch Forum to help get the word out.
In the coming days, we will send an updated version of the sign which will include a QR code linking to the sign in additional languages, which can replace this version of the sign.
Please us know if you have questions or are receiving questions from your communities on roadside springs.
Thanks,
Vermont Department of Health
Private Drinking Water Program