Permit process begins to extend waterline from Amherst to Leverett Published: 2/19/2021 3:04:20 PM AMHERST — A project to extend a water main from Amherst into Leverett to provide drinking water to homes with wells contaminated by a former landfill is going through a permitting phase. Before the work — pegged at a cost of between $2.3 and $2.5 million and to be contracted out by the Department of Public Works — begins, the Conservation Commission will hold a public meeting under the state Rivers Protection Act and the town’s Wetlands Protection Bylaw on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The meeting comes after the DPW filed a notice of intent to install 9,500 linear feet of a 12-inch main beneath East Leverett Road in Amherst and both Cushman and Teawaddle Hills roads in Leverett, where the homes affected by a plume from the capped landfill are located. Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said the notice of intent is a routine aspect of the initial permitting required for the project.