Greenridge In Brookfield—

State Regulators Review Competing Water Supply Plans

By Andrew Gorosko

In a legal brief filed with state regulators, the Town of Brookfield has endorsed a proposal by the Aquarion Water Company to provide safe drinking water from a source within Brookfield to the residents of the 230-home Greenridge residential subdivision there, where the current community water supply system is contaminated with harmful radioactive minerals.

The Brookfield Board of Selectmen voted on August 17 to support the Aquarion proposal over a competing proposal from United Water to extend United’s Newtown-based public water supply to Greenridge. A small section of Greenridge lies in Newtown.

Town of Newtown and Borough of Newtown officials have raised environmental concerns that sending water from United’s system, which is fed by the Pootatuck Aquifer, would be environmentally unwise because it would amount to transferring water from one watershed into another watershed, potentially depleting the Pootatuck Aquifer and the adjacent Pootatuck River.

The state Public Utilities Regulatory Agency (PURA) and the state Department of Public Health (DPH) are reviewing the competing water supply proposals. PURA formerly was known as the state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC).

PURA spokesman Philip Dukes said August 19 that it is unclear when PURA/DPH would decide on the Greenridge water supply issue. PURA/DPH initially would file a draft decision for public review, after which it would make a final decision on the Greenridge matter, he said. 

In its legal brief to PURA/DPH, the Town of Brookfield states, “Brookfield’s primary objective and foremost concern is that the Greenridge residents be provided with an uncontaminated and assured source of water as soon as possible and at the least cost.”

Brookfield initially had supported having United extend its Newtown-based water supply to Greenridge.

However, after Aquarion recently presented PURA/DPH with its water supply counterproposal, “Brookfield now believes that Aquarion is in the best position to construct a water line to service Greenridge…In contrast to United’s proposal, an Aquarion line will not include any restrictions on servicing other Brookfield properties, and thus, may be available to serve other properties along Route 25 that are known to have contaminated water supplies,” the legal papers state.

Under Aquarion’s proposal, Aquarion would sell water to United, which would then distribute that water via its Greenridge community water supply system.

In the past, PURA/DPH had ordered United to provide safe drinking water to Greenridge to resolve longstanding problems with tainted water there.

In January 2008, United received state approval to take over Greenridge’s community water supply system. In March 2009, the state regulators approved United’s proposal to extend its Newtown-based water system to Greenridge.

In May 2010, United began a $4 million project to extend an underground water pipeline northward along Hawleyville Road from the intersection of Mt Pleasant Road and Hawleyville Road to Greenridge, off Whisconier Road in Brookfield.

However, Town of Newtown and Borough of Newtown officials objected to that water extension project, resulting in state regulators halting the pipeline work until points of conflict could be resolved. Town and borough officials charged that extending the Newtown-based water supply into Brookfield could potentially compromise Newtown’s water supply needs.

Last April, Town of Newtown and Borough of Newtown officials endorsed a stipulated agreement with the Town of Brookfield and United concerning certain protective conditions that would apply if state regulators decide to have United extend its Newtown-based public water supply system to Greenridge.

In a separate legal brief filed with PURA/DPH, The Potatuck Land Company and The Potatuck Club, Inc, both of Newtown, request that state regulators not endorse the stipulated agreement concerning United extending its Newtown-based water supply to Greenridge, and instead approve the Aquarion water supply proposal.

Also, in a legal brief submitted to PURA/DPH, the state Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC) endorses the Aquarion water supply proposal for Greenridge. Additionally, the OCC makes some recommendations on how United could recoup certain costs it has incurred as part of its Greenridge water supply proposal.

In a legal brief to PURA/DPH, four Greenridge residents who are intervenors in the case, urge that the regulators order United to extend its water supply to Greenridge. “Aquarion’s speculative proposal must be rejected,” they add.

The intervenors are Paul Holko, Suzanne Holko, Martin Foncello, and Mary Foncello.

Town/Borough

The Town of Newtown and Borough of Newtown also filed documents on Greenridge with PURA/DPH.

In an August 18 letter, attorney James Rice, representing the Town of Newtown, wrote, “The Town of Newtown is prepared to stand by its commitments in the [stipulated agreement], with the sole exception that the correct boundaries of the exclusive service area of United Water associated with Greenridge… be properly defined.

“Had the Aquarion proposal for construction of a water main in the Town of Brookfield to serve Greenridge and other Brookfield customers been presented at an earlier date, the Town of Newtown would have endorsed that proposal. The Aquarion proposal clearly addresses the major concerns expressed by the Town of Newtown on numerous occasions — the need to supply a safe adequate supply of water to the citizens of Brookfield and Newtown served by the Greenridge water system, and the protection of water resources in Newtown, specifically the Pootatuck Aquifer and the Pootatuck River,” Mr Rice added.

However, Aquarion did not present its Greenridge water supply proposal until relatively recently, after the stipulated agreement already had been reached concerning United’s water supply proposal, Mr Rice noted.

In a legal brief to PURA/DPH, the Borough of Newtown states that the borough stands by the spirit of the stipulated agreement.

However, if the state’s regulatory review of providing a new water source for Greenridge were just beginning and the Aquarion proposal was one of the options, the borough would support the Aquarion proposal over the United proposal, the brief states.

“Adoption of the Aquarion plan would satisfy all of the borough’s concerns…except possibly an order regarding United’s request to recoup monies it says it has spent” on the Greenridge project, the brief adds.

Also, if United’s water supply proposal for Greenridge is approved by PURA/DPH, United’s water rates for borough customers should not be changed, it adds.

In additional briefs filed with PURA/DPH, United and Aquarion explain why their respective competing water supply proposals for Greenridge should be approved.