There's no bubbling crude or precious metals in Devens, the former Army base that straddles Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley.
But there are two massive underground aquifers that at one time slaked the thirst of 15,000 soldiers and their families, and access to that water is emerging as a sticking point in the stalled negotiations between the state and the three towns over which ultimately has authority over Devens, officials and residents said.
Local officials want to secure future water capacity within their historic boundaries. But officials from MassDevelopment, the quasi-public agency that runs Devens, said the towns' water supplies are not their concern and they intend to pump out even more water as more businesses settle on the former base.
That position does not sit well with lo cal leaders.
"Water is quite the commodity," said Harvard Selectwoman Lucy Wallace. "One of the arguments for returning jurisdiction of the Devens land to Harvard would be that we would have control over the aquifers."
Since 2006, when a proposal to incorporate Devens as a separate municipality failed, negotiations between MassDevelopment and the three towns have been at a standstill.
The MassDevelopment-sponsored proposal required the three towns to relinquish their claims on Devens land in their historic boundaries. Shirley Town Meeting approved the measure, but Ayer and Harvard rejected it. The issue hasn't been revived because it's not clear it would pass anytime soon, officials said.
It could be years before Town Meeting members have a chance to vote again. In 1993, the Legislature set a 2033 deadline for determining whether to make Devens a municipality or split it up among the three towns.
Local officials said they don't need to wait for Devens's final status to be determined to resolve the water issue. "If MassDevelopment is thinking 10 years down the road to increase the amount of water they use, then the towns should be involved in that planning process so that this regional resource can be shared equitably," said Heidi Ricci, a Shirley resident who chairs the Devens Open Space and Recreation Advisory Committee.
Ayer already has asked to take possession of a well on a part of the former base in the town's historic boundaries, said Ayer Selectwoman Carolyn McCreary. MassDevelopment rejected the request, but it shows local officials have been serious about securing water, McCreary said.
Richard Montouri, executive vice president of MassDevelopment, said he wasn't sure how the agency might address the towns' concerns. Besides the request from Ayer to be given a well, Montouri said he hasn't received any concrete proposals from town officials about the water.
If the towns feared water shortages, Montouri said, they should seek to buy water from MassDevelopment or build wells on the portions of their land above the aquifers, rather than complaining when MassDevelopment wouldn't do it for them on Devens. "What these communities have chosen to do is not spend the capital costs themselves but piggyback on us."
In the meantime, MassDevelopment has set aside open space, welcomed some 250 residents, and attracted business to Devens.
Bristol-Myers Squibb chose Devens in part because of its water, said MassDevelopment spokeswoman Meg Delorier. But the company won't be using an excessive amount of water or flouting state or federal environmental rules, she said. "If a company is going to be a huge water user and not create jobs, we're not going to bring that company to Devens," said Delorier.
Devens has four wells that pump around 500,000 gallons of water on average a day, said Jim Moore, Devens utilities supervisor. But MassDevelopment is spending millions to increase the capacity to 4.3 million gallons a day, the limit allowed by its Department of Environmental Protection permit, he said.
That might seem like a lot of water, said Montouri, but at one time the base's wells provided water to an Army facility. "The amount we are pumping out of the aquifers is not even half of what the aquifers could generate."
"The demand goes up as the town grows," said Shirley Water District Superintendent Brian Goodman. "Down the road, it's going to be a problem."
Warns Ayers' McCreary, the towns cannot wait until a water crisis befalls them to figure out how they can take advantage of the aquifers.
Shirley now uses 320,000 gallons of water a day on average, 35,000 gallons more than last year, Goodman said. Ayer uses around 1.4 million gallons a day on average, according to Mike Madigan, public works superintendent. Harvard uses 20,000 gallons a day, said Richard Nota, its DPW superintendent.