EXETER "" Members of the water and sewer subcommittee recently met with staff at the town's water plant and, according to Town Manager Russ Dean, the new team is functioning well.

Town officials are receiving fewer complaints and the water quality is good, Dean said.

"I'm happy to report we're making quite a bit of progress," he told the Board of Selectmen.

Dean, in a later interview, said the town has received a good deal of positive feedback from the new team in place at the town's water treatment plant. Out of the plant's four operators, three have only been on board since last summer.

According to Public Works Director Keith Noyes, water plant problems began last summer after one employee was fired, another retired and a third transferred to another town job.

That left only one experienced operator on board, and then the problems began. Noyes said if four experienced operators had been with the town at that time, the same problems would have occurred, but would have been corrected much sooner.

Noyes said the new team is working well together.

"The four operators are really doing a great job of operating the plant and getting things back on line," he said. "They seem to work well together and are doing a good job."

Improvements on the plant's filters will more than likely take place this summer. Bids for the project will be put out next month.

The Larry Lane well, which was the source of high arsenic levels recorded in Exeter water in December and January, has not been in use since 24-hour operations commenced Feb. 19.

The town still is investigating why arsenic levels at Larry Lane are so high and possible ways to solve the problem. With other water system improvements and changes on the horizon, however, the well may not need to be used again unless an emergency arises.

Noyes said public works employees are testing two additional wells in town "" the Gilman Park well and Stadium well, which have been inactive for about 25 years. Those two wells, combined with plant improvements and a new water tower may remove the need for Larry Lane as a source. That would mean spending money for improvements at the source would be unnecessary.

Noyes said he is optimistic things are going to work out well with 24-hour operations in place. The plant runs unmanned from 9 p.m. until about 5 a.m. When the operators leave for the night, the plant is set at a lower operating speed.

If any of the plant monitoring points picks up a problem during unmanned operation, the plant is shut down.

"For instance, if the turbidity exceeds the maximum amount it would identify that as a problem, and it would shut the plant down and stop producing water immediately," Noyes said.

An alarm is then sent to Exeter dispatch, which would notify the plant's senior operator of the problem.

Turbidity, clarity of water, is tested monthly and Noyes said the town is well within the parameters of the regulations.

"So we're doing a very good job of cleaning the water right now," he said. "I'm very optimistic that we're making some progress with improvements at the plant to really ensure the water quality is only getting better over a period of time.

"I can't say we won't have any problems because it's an old plant, but I'm optimistic we're making headway in ensuring the water quality is good."

Residents who experience water quality issues can call the plant at 773-6169 between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m.