Development in the Fort Hill corridor north of the current terminus of the water main has relied on groundwater supplies provided through private wells. These wells provide limited supplies. Periodically, there have been some issues with the quality of these groundwater supplies.

North of the current terminus of the water main, the Fire Department has access to only two all-season supplies in the Fort Hill area: the fire pond at the back side of the Fort Hill Farms development and a fire pond at the end of Long View Drive in the Martin Subdivision. These supplies leave much of the area between the terminus of the existing main and Huston Road, especially the area along Route 114, and to the west of Route 114, with almost no available supply of water for fire suppression.

Most of Gorham Village is served by public water, including hydrants for fire protection water supplies. The "Village water system" is a branch of the Portland Water District with a single connection via a pump station located near Main Street in the vicinity of Libby Avenue. This results in the entire Village water system being a long dead end with only a single source of supply.

As a result of this configuration, fire flows and pressures within Gorham Village are limited. While these limitations have not presented serious problems in terms of providing fire protection to the existing development in Gorham Village, continued growth in and around the Village will tax the ability of the current system to provide adequate flows and pressure for fire protection.

The Portland Water District is planning to construct a new pumping station on the Huston Road. The long-range plan of the district anticipates that this pump station will eventually be connected to Gorham Village through the construction of a water main in Fort Hill Road. The Water District proposes to install an oversized sixteen-inch main. This improvement, when and if it occurs, will provide public water service in the Fort Hill corridor from the terminus of the current main to the Huston Road intersection. This improvement will also provide a second source of supply for the Village water system. This interconnection will substantially improve fire flows and pressure in the portion of Gorham Village served by the existing water mains, thereby providing capacity for new users in and around the Village. The planned resurfacing/reconstruction of the Fort Hill Road by the Maine Department of Transportation during 2004 combined with the Water District's funding constraints make it unlikely that this improvement would be undertaken in the near future even with the development pressures in the area and the limited fire protection water supplies in the Village.

The Town of Gorham proposes to work with the Portland Water District to accelerate the planned extension of the Fort Hill Road water main from its terminus in the vicinity of the Gordon Farm Subdivision northerly approximately 8,000 feet to the intersection with the Huston Road. This will enable the main to be installed in 2004 prior to the planned reconstruction of the Fort Hill Road. This will enable this main to be connected to the new Huston Road pumping station in the near future. Fire hydrants will be provided upon the length of the extension.

The base impact fee shall be $650 per new single-family dwelling unit in Area A of the Benefit District and $200 per new single-family dwelling unit in Area B as shown on the Fort Hill Water Main Extension Impact Fee Benefit District Map dated April 26, 2004 (see Fort Hill Water Main Extension Impact Fee Methodology dated April 27, 2004). New nonresidential buildings and structures, other new residential uses and expansions of existing buildings that increase their water use shall be charged an impact fee based upon their likely water use, or increase in water use for existing buildings, based upon the design sewage flows from the Maine State Plumbing Code and base fees of $650 and $200 per 300 gallons per day of design flow. The impact fee shall be set at $650 for Area A and $200 for Area B for development that is subject to the fee in Fiscal Year 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, and the fee adjusted by 3% per year to account for the potential rate of inflation. This adjustment results in the following schedule of impact fees per single-family home or 300 gallons per day of design sewage flow for all other uses:

If the impact fee continues beyond 2018-2019, the fee shall continue to increase at 3% per year.

Notwithstanding the provisions of 1 M.R.S.A. § 302 or any other law, this article, when enacted, shall apply to any project for which an application for a building permit under the Land Use and Development Code or other Town ordinance is submitted on or after June 1, 2004.

The Fort Hill Water Main Extension Impact Fee shall terminate when the Town has collected $249,000 in impact fees under this article.