Bethel — Town officials are moving at the state’s request to address several deficiencies in Bethel’s water system, most pressing among them an aging water tank that state regulators say could jeopardize the system’s integrity.

Vermont environmental officials last month issued a permit allowing Bethel to operate its water system, but added a few caveats based on their concerns about its infrastructure. Among those conditions are requirements that prohibit increased water use and require the town to continuously operate its water disinfection treatment facilities.

“The (Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection Division) deems these conditions necessary based on the water system’s sanitary deficiencies,” said a Sept. 15 letter accompanying the permit from Patrick Smart, operations section supervisor for the state of Vermont.

Smart, whose letter to Bethel was first reported by The Herald of Randolph, could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Town Manager Greg Maggard, who also serves as the community’s water administrator, said Bethel was not the only Vermont town to be behind in system maintenance.

“It’s not a completely uncommon thing,” he said Friday. “There’s been some deferred maintenance in town and we’re trying to get on top of it.”

State officials have set a few compliance deadlines for Bethel, starting on Nov. 1, when town officials are required to submit a plan for regular flushing of the water distribution system.

The state’s letter says Bethel already has flushing procedures in its operator’s manual, but does not engage in regular flushing of the system as called for in those procedures.

By Jan. 31, town officials must submit a comprehensive evaluation of their water system that addresses its deficiencies and how officials plan to address them.

The most prominent area of deficiency is the water tank, a concrete structure that Maggard estimated could be between 30 and 50 years old and that he said is losing parts of its inner lining.

An August 2016 inspection by the state found that the tank “has penetrations not only making it non-watertight, but structurally inadequate,” the revised permit said.

Vermont officials also are asking that Bethel make fixes to its chlorine residual sampling procedures, verify that its system hits state-mandated water pressure levels, and make sure that controls and alarms on its storage tanks are fully operational.

Maggard declined to say what it might cost to bring the town’s water system up to date, citing the variability of potential designs for a new water tank, which would be the largest project.

He added that the flushing plan had already been completed, putting Bethel ahead of the compliance schedule.

Maggard took the town manager job this summer, which meant he was not present for the March 2016 tests that were the basis for the state officials’ report.

He previously worked as a public works director in Buena Vista, Colo., and before that held the same job in Callahan, Colo.

He said he planned to stress-test the water system soon in order to make sure the water pressure inside did not fall too low.

Bethel soon will apply for a state revolving fund loan towards the required engineering study, Maggard said, and then town officials may apply for additional loans or grants to pay for the improvements themselves.

“As long as we’re working toward it we’ll be fine,” he said.

Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or at 603-727-3242.