WELLS, Maine — The project to install a new sewer pipe in Wells Harbor is expected to begin earlier than first planned, Wells Sanitary District Superintendent Nick Rico announced on Tuesday.

The current pipe is aged and faulty and has kept Rico and his staff busy this summer with one failure after another – five leaks, to be exact.

Originally, NorthEast Earth Mechanics, the general contractor for the upcoming pipe replacement, was scheduled to be on site to begin the project after Labor Day. On Tuesday, however, Rico said the contractor was expected to be at the scene sometime this week. Henniker Directional Drilling is expected to begin its work next week, Rico added.

When asked if he was pleased to see the project beginning sooner, Rico was quick with his reply.

“That would be an understatement,” he said.

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The sewer line is located under the harbor and runs between the jetties from Drakes Island to the Eastern Shore parking lot at the end of Atlantic Avenue. The pipe first broke on July 8 and most recently leaked again Thursday, Aug. 11, according to Rico.

Two of the leaks were caused by boating incidents – the pipe’s anchorage has become eroded over time, allowing the pipe to float close enough to the surface to be struck by a passing vessel, the town said in a news release last month. The harbor master has worked to install booms and moorings to guide all boat traffic away from the floating sewer line to prevent further damage and to secure the area for divers who must repair the pipe. An additional 17,000 pounds of anchorage has been added to the line, as well, according to Rico.

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Two other pipe breaks were caused by the continual pressure of erosion, Rico said, while yet another was caused by a “stress crack” along the line.

The town had closed the inner harbor to swimming, kayaking and fishing but reopened the beach there on Tuesday afternoon, according to Interim Town Manager Bill Giroux.

On Tuesday, Rico said the district tests the harbor regularly and, to date, results for fecal coliform have been “well below” the maximum levels allowed. The beach was closed "only as a precaution," he added.

The other beaches in town have remained open. The beaches have not been compromised by the leaks, according to the town.

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In its press release after the fifth leak last week, the town assured the public that sewage is not being released into the harbor after these incidents because the pump has been shut off. Pump trucks pumped effluent around to the mainland, the town reported.

The fifth pipe break called for a “more serious and significant temporary repair,” enough so that the repair took place a day earlier than scheduled, according to the town. The repair took place on Thursday, Aug. 11, and the district reactivated the line later that day.

Giroux has recommended to the district that if the line fails a sixth time, it should not be activated again until the permanent replacement of the entire pipe has been completed. The old pipe will be replaced by two new and thicker ones, Rico said.

The Wells Sanitary District, which oversees the pipeline, has worked with town officials and various town departments to address the matter. The town also has been in communication with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Department of Marine Resources.

The sanitary district first installed the line in the harbor in 1978, placing it many feet below the bottom of the harbor floor. Over time, the cover to this line was eroded away and original anchors corroded, according to the town.

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The harbor was hit by three nor'easters in 2018, causing the sewer line to become exposed enough to float. The line was re-anchored that year to the bottom of the harbor as a temporary fix, and the designing and permitting for a more permanent solution began.

The old pipe will be replaced by two new, thicker ones, according to Rico. The estimated cost of the project is $1.5 million and is being funded by the State Revolving Loan Program, which the Maine Municipal Bond Bank and the DEP administer.

Reporter Max Sullivan contributed to this article.