Water Line Extension Suspended For State Review

By Andrew Gorosko

United Water has agreed to halt the construction of a water line extension from Newtown to the Greenridge residential section of Brookfield at least until a state-sponsored technical review session is held to air Newtown officials’ concerns that such a water line extension could adversely affect the Pootatuck Aquifer, which would supply the water line.

State Representative Christopher Lyddy said May 26 that United Water has agreed to suspend construction on the water line installation project until the session sponsored by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) is held sometime next week. Mr Lyddy said he hopes that representatives of the state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) and the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) also attend the meeting.

Before the decision to suspend the project was made, workers for United Water, on the morning of May 26, were using a pavement cutter to prepare Hawleyville Road for future trenching and water line installation.

In January 2008, the DPH and the DPUC ordered United Water to provide potable water to Greenridge, off Route 25. Greenridge has a contaminated community water system. There are about 230 single-family houses in Greenridge, where the water system is fed by a series of wells tainted with naturally occurring uranium. Ingestion of uranium can be harmful.

Mr Lyddy said that Newtown officials were not given ample opportunity to raise their concerns over the water system extension project with state regulators before the construction project started.

Newtown Health Director Donna Culbert said that the technical review session will provide local officials with an opportunity to get answers to their various questions about the water project.

There need to be assurances made that the Pootatuck Aquifer holds sufficient water for Newtown’s needs before the underground water source is also used to supply other communities, she said. United Water’s local water supply system uses a Pootatuck Aquifer wellhead along South Main Street, near its intersection with Bryan Lane.

“We have been left out of the communication loop,” Ms Culbert said of local officials not receiving pertinent information about the implications of the water supply project.

George Benson, town director of planning and land use, said local officials had been told that United Water would not start its water project construction until June 1, but work started this week.

Mr Benson said United Water had yet to provide him with information he had requested about the project.

Mr Benson acknowledged that the town has no jurisdiction over United Water’s project, but he added that local officials should have a say over what occurs in Newtown. “It’s frustrating,” he said.

Mr Benson noted that an ongoing US Geological Survey (USGS) study of the Pootatuck Aquifer’s water capacity has yet to be completed.

He added that he wants to review certain water system connection changes planned for the southern section of Main Street which United Water plans to perform in conjunction with the water system extension to Brookfield.

“There’s a lot of questions, a lot of issues,” he said.

Mr Benson broadly asked whether the construction work planned by United Water would have adverse effects on Newtown.

Local officials will formulate a letter to state regulators explaining in detail their concerns about the planned United Water construction work. That document would address issues such as the USGS aquifer study, the water capacity of the Pootatuck Aquifer, and the effects of the project on the southern section of Main Street.

The overall water project is expected to cost approximately $4 million.

Steven Goudsmith, a United Water spokesman, has said that state regulators want the water company to complete its water system extension to Greenridge by September 24.

In a statement, Mr Goudsmith has said that the improvement project would provide Greenridge residents with a reliable water supply and also improve the water service for the company’s Newtown customers.