Residents on Riverside Road have a big decision to make — whether or not to hook into a new water line that Aquarion Water Company will be installing down their road this summer.

The water main extension project is scheduled to begin Monday, July 12, and is expected to be completed by the end of October. And property owners along that extension route will have an opportunity to connect to the new water main if they choose.

“This project is an opportunity for residents to hook into the water line, but there is no obligation to hook into the water line,” according to Peter Fazekas, director of corporate communications for Aquarion.

At a June Board of Selectmen meeting, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal noted that there will be a relatively long time frame for residents to decide whether they want to connect or not.

“We want to try and give as much notice as possible so people can think about it,” Public Works Director Fred Hurley affirmed. But that decision must be made within about a year because the town has already postponed planned repaving from this summer to accommodate the water extension project.

By the summer of 2022, Rosenthal told The Newtown Bee, residents will no longer be able to hook into the system on an elective basis, as the town will be repaving the road. After that, only emergencies like well failure or the health department requiring a resident to hook into the system will be accommodated.

“To install new water line hookups at that point will require us to cut into the newly paved road,” said Rosenthal. “We don’t want to have to cut up a new road. That will destroy a new road [surface] really quickly.”

An additional water main project on Alpine Drive, which will replace 5,200 feet of water line in that area, will be completed later in 2021.

The main Riverside Road project will install approximately 10,720 feet of water main as part of an ongoing program to improve Aquarion’s water distribution system. That effort will help improve water quality, according to Fazekas.

Town Receiving Compensation

Hurley told selectmen at a recent meeting that the town will receive $220,000 from Aquarion to help pay for repaving after the water line installation is completed. That amount is a percentage of the total cost of repaving the road. Final paving will then be scheduled and performed by town crews and/or a contractor next year.

The extension project on Riverside will allow Aquarion to connect two of its water line systems, one in Newtown and one in Sandy Hook. It will allow the Sandy Hook section to start receiving chlorinated water, which will offer those who take the hookup “lots of advantages as far as quality of water and protection from bacteria.”

“We greatly appreciate residents’ patience during this project,” said Michael Hiltz, Aquarion’s manager of capital delivery. “We will work closely with our customers, contractors, and town officials to coordinate the work and minimize any disruptions.”

Due to construction, residents should expect minor traffic delays and possible detours during the working hours of 7 am to 5 pm. Stratford-based Burns Construction Company will serve as the contractor for the water main extension project.

Fazekas said workers have already been out marking the roads where the lines will go for the project. After that, crews will excavate portions of the road and install the line section by section over the course of about three months. Workers will then put in temporary patches over the excavated areas that will remain over this winter.

To keep everyone informed about scheduled/unscheduled work, Aquarion utilizes its Everbridge notification system to call affected customers.

Aquarion encourages customers to sign up for this free service at aquarionwater.com/alerts. Also, project updates describing the construction status, schedule for the following week, changes in traffic patterns, and detours will be posted weekly on the Town of Newtown website newtown-ct.gov/public-works.

Customers with project-related questions are invited to contact Bill Dwinells, Aquarion’s project manager, at 203-367-5906. For service or water-related issues, reach Aquarion Customer Service at 800-732-9678. For more information about new service, visit aquarionwater.com/newservice.

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