AMHERST – A 141-acre wooded parcel in Pelham, which has brooks flowing through it feeding reservoirs that provide about one-quarter of Amherst’s drinking water, will be permanently protected.
The town recently received a $175,000 Drinking Water Supply Protection Grant from the state that serves as the 50 percent match for an appropriation made by Town Meeting last fall.
Interim Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner said Tuesday that the town will buy the property from the Romer family, which has owned the land for more than 80 years,
“It’s on the fast track,” Hechenbleikner said.
Part of the land is just 150 feet from the edge of the Hills Reservoir and, if developed, could compromise the water quality. The land could support four homes and their septic systems.
The purchase continues the town’s goal of ensuring developable land near reservoirs is protected, Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford Mooring wrote in a memo to Hechenbleikner.
Existing trails through the site will be maintained and, once acquired, Amherst would provide Pelham a yearly payment in lieu of taxes
The land will be known as the Romer Woods, with signs being installed on the property.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
