Hubbardston Planning Board finds 1980s aquifer map no longer valid, orders update

HUBBARDSTON -- March 19, 2026, Hubbardston Planning Board finds its aquifer favorability map scientifically outdated and flags need for full revision. At the March 19 meeting, Planning Board consultant William Murray of Places Associates told the five-member board that the aquifer favorability map embedded in the zoning bylaw, originally produced by a firm called IEP in the 1980s and digitized in 2017, no longer aligns with current state mapping, with only the dark-green medium-yield aquifer area still recognized by the state. Murray also disclosed that Gardner's Zone 2 wellhead protection area for the Snake Pond well, a state overlay governing nitrogen loading and waste facilities, overlaps most of the active sandpit parcels shown on the town's map. "Gardner's water supply draws its water from most of the active sandpit areas," Murray said, adding that some light-green portions of the local map should be retained for that reason. Chair Kristofer Munroe said he would work with Town Planner Alec Wade and the Town Administrator on funding and timing for an updated map and report, noting existing grant money may apply. The board also received a draft table of uses from Wade converting Article 4 from written to tabular format, with member comments due the following Sunday, and was told the Planning Board revolving fund holds $11,371.57, well above the $3,000 level the town's CPA accountant recommended.