At DPUC Hearing—

Alternative Water Supply Proposed For Greenridge

By Andrew Gorosko

NEW BRITAIN — Brookfield First Selectman William Davidson is recommending to state regulators an alternative solution to provide safe drinking water for the Greenridge residential subdivision off Route 25 in Brookfield.

That proposal involves the extension of an existing public water supply system within Brookfield to Greenridge, where the water is contaminated with radioactivity.

Mr Davidson presented his proposal to the state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) at a Tuesday, August 10, public hearing on United Water’s controversial $3.9 million plan to extend its public water supply system from Newtown to Greenridge.

Newtown officials’ concerns over the planned United Water system extension from Newtown to Greenridge focus on whether such a project would jeopardize the future water supply provided to Newtown by the Pootatuck Aquifer, which also would supply water to Greenridge. A prime concern entails whether the Pootatuck Aquifer holds a sufficient water reserve to extend the water system to Brookfield, in view of Newtown’s future water supply requirements.

The August 10 DPUC hearing in New Britain was a continuation of a July 29 DPUC hearing that was held in Newtown.

Mr Davidson suggested that an existing water supply system at Silvermine Road in Brookfield be extended approximately 1.6 miles to the Greenridge subdivision. Such a water system extension also would pass by two schools and many other homes in Brookfield.

Such a water system extension would be less costly than United Water’s plan to extend its Newtown water system to Greenridge, Mr Davidson said. In effect, Greenridge residents would be able to get safe drinking water at a lower cost if the existing water system in Brookfield is extended to Greenridge, rather than if United Water’s Newtown water system is extended to Greenridge, he said.

Mr Davidson noted that the alternative water supply proposal would require a design, the identification of a water source, and DPUC approval. 

Brookfield officials would work quickly to formulate the details of an alternative water supply proposal for DPUC review, Mr Davidson said.

In January 2008, DPUC and the state Department of Public Health (DPH) ordered United Water to provide safe drinking water to Greenridge to resolve longstanding problems there with tainted water. There are about 230 single-family houses in Greenridge, where the water supply system is fed by a series wells contaminated with naturally occurring uranium and other radioactive substances. The ingestion of such tainted water is considered harmful.

United Water

Attorney Ted Backer, representing United Water, told John W. Betkoski III, a DPUC commission member and hearing officer, that the company wants to proceed with its plans to extend water from its Newtown water supply system to Greenridge.

Mr Davidson’s water supply proposal does not specify a source of water for Greenridge, Mr Backer said. Also, the proposal raises a host of legal issues that would likely take five to seven years to resolve, Mr Backer said.

Mr Betkoski asked that Mr Davidson submit some specific alternative water supply plans that the DPUC could review.

Mr Davidson said such plans would be forthcoming, adding, “We understand the need to provide substantive information.”

Mr Betkoski commended Mr Davidson for seeking an alternative water supply solution for Greenridge, adding though that “there are many variables” involved in providing public water supplies.

United Water now owns the Greenridge water supply system, Mr Betkoski said, noting the complexities of the situation.

Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra said she appreciates Mr Davidson’s efforts to resolve the various issues stemming from plans to extend United Water’s water system from Newtown to Greenridge. Mr Davidson’s concept is a solution that respects political boundaries, Mrs Llodra said.

Mrs Llodra termed Mr Davidson’s idea “a new way of thinking,” in urging the DPUC to consider his water supply concept.

Mrs Llodra told DPUC staffers that the US Geological Survey recently published a report detailing the interrelationship between the Pootatuck Aquifer and the adjacent Pootatuck River.

That report describes the relationship between United Water’s wells pumping water out of the aquifer near the river. The withdrawal of water from those wells results in the river level being drawn down, Mrs Llodra said.

Newtown officials need to know the long-term environmental effects of United Water sending water drawn from those wells to Greenridge, she said.

Newtown faces the prospect of additional residential and commercial growth, she said.

The Pootatuck River needs to be protected, she said, adding that Newtown officials need more time to study the possible effects of a water supply diversion to Brookfield before that diversion would occur, she said.

“Please give us additional time…Let’s not rush,” Mrs Llodra told DPUC staffers.

Time is needed to study Mr Davidson’s alternative Greenridge water supply proposal, as well as study the implications of a diversion of water from the Pootatuck Aquifer to Greenridge, she said.

Also, Newtown officials need to discuss with United Water the company’s water supply plans for the coming decade, she said. United Water’s wells have a poor location and its water pumping system could use some improvements, she said.

Jeffrey Lennox, a technical consultant for United Water, it is not unusual that when the water company’s wells are being pumped, the level of the Pootatuck River drops.

No content in the USGS aquifer report would preclude the company from extending its water system to Greenridge, he said. The extension of water service to Greenridge would not limit the availability of water for Newtown in the future, he said.

United Water engineer John Moolick told DPUC staffers that the company chose to extend its water supply from Newtown to Greenridge instead of creating water purification system at Greenridge due to cost concerns, and issues involving construction, maintenance, and scheduling.

Newtown officials say they fear that once United Water has extended its water supply to Greenridge, there would no barrier to the firm continuing to extend its water system farther into Brookfield. Such water system extensions would hold the potential for depleting the Pootatuck Aquifer, which has been designated as Newtown’s sole source aquifer, according to Newtown officials.

Newtown officials also are questioning United Water’s methodology in gaining state permission to extend its water supply to Greenridge, objecting the firm’s apparently quietly employing a legal loophole in state regulations to avoid the need to obtain a water diversion permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Such diversion permit requests involve a formal DEP public review process, which did not occur.

Mr Lennox told the DPUC that approximately 20 percent of United Water’s water supply capacity from its wells on South Main Street in Newtown remains unused. Also, only about seven percent of the water pumped from those wells would be sent to Greenridge, he said.

The well system has a 1.5-million-gallon-per-day capacity rating. The wells produce good quality water which requires only minimal treatment before its use, Mr Lennox said.

The DPUC public hearing on providing Greenridge with a safe water supply is scheduled to resume on August 24 in New Britain.