“We’re off and running, finally,” said Public Works Director Fred Hurley after the Board of Selectmen on February 17 approved an agreement with Housatonic Railroad Company allowing the town to go on Housatonic’s property to repair a culvert that collapsed during flooding in August 2024.

The agreement was a necessity not only to do the work, but to get the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to begin funding and engineering work.

The collapsed culvert is located on Housatonic Railroad property and the town needed permission to enter private property to do work.

The existing tracks will also need to be taken down for safety reasons, as town employees and subcontractors will be doing work below them, and the town needed permission to do that as well.

The 2024 culvert collapse blocked access to a wellfield owned by Aquarion Water Company, which has caused Aquarion to place bans on outdoor water use, even after the town made available additional water from the Fairfield Hills Campus.

The cleanup has been delayed well over a year while various parties, including the Town of Newtown, Aquarion, Pootatuck Railroad Company, and National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) negotiated an agreement.

“It’s been like pulling wisdom teeth, getting onto that property,” said Hurley. “This is the first step before we can get to other steps.”

Aquarion Water Company relies on the Town-owned Fairfield Hills Water System to provide supplemental water in the event of an extreme drought or large fire.

State Representative Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) spoke during public participation, commending the work of the current Board of Selectmen and the past Board of Selectmen under former First Selectman Jeff Capeci for getting the project to this point.

“The damage has prevented the nearby wellfield from being used, which has left nearby families without potable water after a year and a half,” said Bolinsky. “By clearing the riverbed and getting the water level down to historic levels, that will end the period of elevated water that has taken away the wellfield and left homeowners in fear that another storm will sweep away their houses.”

Bolinsky also requested that an official timeline of the repairs be made available through public release as well as The Newtown Bee.

Moving forward with the NRCS plan will improve both flood resilience and local water security for the Newtown community. The project is expected to go out to bid this fall, with work to begin in the spring and be completed by the end of June, though that timeline is not yet written in stone.

Hurley said there are other cost issues, since there has been more damage to the Pootatuck than just where the tracks fell. Silt and sediment have gone both upstream and downstream and will need to be dealt with. First Selectman Bruce Walczak said that the town is looking to “scrounge” $20,000 to do a study on what may need to be done in those areas. NRCS has declined to assist with that cost, so the town will be looking into it on its own.

“It’s more than just one issue, not just underneath,” said Hurley.

Hurley said that the other work, once assessed, will need to go to various approval boards in town and will bring additional costs.

The Legislative Council in January approved the receipt of a $514,119 grant from NRCS to restore the stream bed of the Pootatuck River near the Aquarion wellfield.

The grant has a 25% local match that will be split between Newtown, Brookfield, Aquarion, and Housatonic Railroad Company. Newtown’s part is $32,132. Town Finance Director Glenys Salas said that Newtown’s part would be paid through leftover FEMA funds from the 2024 storm.

Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.