Date: Fri 19-Jun-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

pollution-Appleblossom-water

Full Text:

Construction To Start Soon On Appleblossom Water Line

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The town hopes to start construction of a public water line extension to the

Appleblossom Lane neighborhood shortly after July 4 to resolve health hazards

stemming from contaminated domestic water wells tainted with industrial

solvents.

John Whitten, the senior field representative of Fuss and O'Neill, the town's

consulting engineers on the water line extension project, said Wednesday

Consolidated Construction of East Hartford is the apparent qualified low

bidder on the construction project with a bid of $1,245,777.

Six firms bid on the project, with the highest bid coming from Bartomeli

Construction at $1,648,453.

The bids include all optional work on the project.

Mr Whitten said the estimated construction time on the project is six months,

with all work to be completed by December.

The town has installed stormwater drainage structures in the neighborhood in

preparation for the water line installation.

The water lines will be installed about five feet below street level. One

water pumping station will be installed to boost water uphill in the area.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is reviewing the bids

on the project, Mr Whitten said. If DEP endorses hiring Consolidated

Construction for the job, the matter will be forwarded to the town's

Purchasing Authority for a final approval.

Mr Whitten said he expects traffic to continue flowing in the Appleblossom

Lane neighborhood while construction work is underway.

Activated carbon water filtration systems which have been installed at some

houses with polluted well water will be removed when public water service is

available, he said. Wells now in use will be capped to prevent their future

use.

The water line extension project is a joint effort of the town's Department of

Public Works and Health Department. After the line extension is complete, the

town will maintain it for one year after which it will become the property of

United Water, the privately-owned local public water utility company.

The water line extension project consists of installing approximately 8,000

linear feet of 8-inch-diameter iron water pipe, 10,000 linear feet of water

service connection lines, the removal of existing water filtration systems,

the abandonment of existing potable water supply wells, and the installation

of the water pumping station.

Fuss and O'Neill, Inc, of Manchester has designed the water service extension

project. Fuss and O'Neill also designed and supervised the installation of the

municipal sanitary sewer system.

Ninety-three properties in the residential Appleblossom Lane area will be

connected to the United Water public water supply system as a health

precaution. Those properties either have domestic water wells contaminated

with industrial solvents or have wells at the risk of becoming contaminated.

Origins Of The Problem

The contamination problem stems from a past spill or spills of the industrial

solvent tetrachloroethylene, also known as PCE, in the Appleblossom Lane area.

PCE also is known as perc, perclene, and perchlor. The chemical is used as an

industrial degreasing compound and as a solvent in the dry cleaning of

fabrics.

The health effects of drinking water with low levels of PCE are not known.

Results of animal studies, conducted with high amounts of PCE show that PCE

can cause liver and kidney damage and cause liver and kidney cancers. PCE may

reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen or cancer-causing agent,

according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Appleblossom Lane is a densely built neighborhood of compact homes west of

South Main Street, just south of Park Lane.

United Water service will be extended to homes on Appleblossom Lane, Dogwood

Terrace, and a section of Cedar Hill Road through the installation of new

water mains and individual service lines.

Water from existing water mains will be extended via new individual service

lines to properties on South Main Street, Prospect Drive, and Pecks Lane.

Funding for the project will largely be provided by the state, with some

United Water development funds provided.

The expansion project will increase United Water's customer base from

approximately 1,000 accounts to about 1,100 accounts.

Because it would be virtually impossible to precisely know the point or points

of origin of the PCE contamination, it was decided that funds that otherwise

would be used to investigate the source of the contamination, should be spent

to provide affected property owners with a safe water supply.