Dover Conservation Commission Approves PFAS Water Main Permit, Conservation Fund Article

DOVER — March 11, 2026 — Dover Conservation Commission unanimously approved a water main permit for the Old Farm Water Trust and pressed a Springdale Avenue property owner on a two-year-old restoration order at its March 11 meeting. The commission voted to issue an Order of Conditions with 20 special conditions for DEP file 144-0940, authorizing Aquarian Water Company to replace a PFAS-contaminated private well by extending a water main through an existing town culvert on Old Farm Road — with special conditions holding Aquarian responsible for relocation costs if the culvert is later replaced. On a separate enforcement matter, Will Mitchell of 31 Springdale Avenue told the commission that lost federal research funding and his wife's layoff have halted all remediation work, leaving an unpermitted culvert over a likely intermittent stream and significant fill encroachment onto Dover Land Conservation Trust land unaddressed since the original enforcement order was issued more than two years ago. The commission also approved a contract with The Collaborative for a conservation land-use framework, authorized warrant article language seeking $25,000 for the conservation fund — which currently holds $127,000 — and approved a letter of support for the Charles River Watershed Climate Compact's MVP grant application.