The Boothbay Region Water District has a new tool that could help prevent the kind of damage an Edgecomb fire truck sustained while pumping water from a Boothbay Harbor hydrant.

Edgecomb's truck was getting water from a McKown Point hydrant July 17, when rocks entered the truck's suction pipe. Damage was estimated at $12,000. Edgecomb Fire Chief Roy Potter had hoped to have the truck back in service August 17, but it was still being worked on at Greenwood Fire Apparatus in Brunswick.

The water district's new equipment attaches to a hydrant and diffuses the water's energy so the hydrant can be “flushed harder” during routine maintenance without risking damage to nearby roadways or properties, District Manager Jonathan Ziegra said.

The district was already going to buy the approximately $3,000 item, but the incident with Edgecomb's truck sped up the purchase, Ziegra said August 17.

Shortly after buying the diffuser, the district used it to flush the hydrant the rocks had come out of, as well as all the other hydrants on the McKown Point water main.

The rocks that passed through the hydrant were “residual” from the main's construction about 30 to 40 years ago, Ziegra said.

Edgecomb will have a lower insurance deductible to pay to fix the truck than first thought. Potter previously told the Edgecomb Board of Selectmen the deductible might be in the $500 to $1,000 range, but he has since learned it is just $250.

Potter no longer planned to ask the water district to cover the deductible. Ziegra said he had received no request from Edgecomb, but that, if the district was asked, it would not pay it because it is not required to.

When Edgecomb's truck was removing water from the hydrant, the truck was transferring that water into a Southport fire truck as part of a training exercise. Repeated attempts to contact Southport fire officials were unsuccessful. Ziegra was not aware of any damage to the Southport truck.