UPDATED 12:54 p.m.

The RSU 4 School Board will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday night to discuss solutions to Oak Hill High School’s water problems.

Oak Hill High School students were let out at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday because the school’s well is running low on water.

“We could always bring in bottled water for cooking and for drinking and stuff like that, but we have to provide restrooms to open. And based on the current water volume in the well, we are only able to provide restrooms for approximately half a day,” said School Board Chairman Josh Bisson. “It’s definitely something that needs to be addressed.”

RSU 4 includes Sabattus, Litchfield and Wales.

The school system discovered the problem last week when staff realized the school’s internal water storage tank was not filling. A well company investigated and found the well did not have enough water. It tried working on the well, but that work did not increase the volume.

“Basically, we can get through about four hours right with that, then we need to take roughly four hours off before we start taxing the system,” said Superintendent Andrew Carlton. 

The school shut down early Tuesday and Wednesday.

The School Board must now decide what to do. Carlton said there are other wells on the property that were deemed unusable years ago but might be usable now. He said the school system could drill a new well. It could also try to connect to town water.

“At this point we’re exploring options. We need to get a fix to, obviously, get us through the school year. That’s our No. 1 priority,” Carlton said.

Oak Hill High School was built in 1976 and serves about 420 students.

The School Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the high school.

All other RSU 4 schools are expected to be in session until their regular dismissal time. 

ltice@sunjournal.com