Attorney General’s Advice—

Regulators Urged To Consider Water Supply Alternatives

By Andrew Gorosko

NEW BRITAIN — State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is urging that state regulators consider all possible alternatives for providing the residents of the Greenridge residential subdivision in Brookfield with a safe public water supply before selecting any particular solution for the 230-home development off Whisconier Road (Route 25).

Mr Blumenthal’s comments come in response to Newtown officials’ concerns that United Water’s $3.9 million plan to extend its Newtown public water supply system to Brookfield could potentially jeopardize the reserve capacity of the Newtown public water supply system. The Pootatuck Aquifer, from which United Water draws water, has been designated as Newtown’s sole source aquifer.

In an August 23 letter to Kimberley Santopietro, the executive secretary of the state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC), Mr Blumenthal urges that DPUC and the state Department of Public Health (DPH) to reconsider their past endorsement of United Water’s extending its Newtown water supply system via Hawleyville Road (Route 25) to Greenridge.

The project would include extending a buried 12-inch-diameter water pipe beneath Route 25 from the intersection of Mt Pleasant Road and Hawleyville Road in Newtown to Greenridge in Brookfield.

In January 2008, DPUC and DPH ordered United Water to provide safe drinking water to Greenridge to resolve longstanding problems with tainted water. The water supply system there is fed by wells contaminated with naturally occurring uranium and other radioactive substances. Drinking such tainted water is considered harmful. About 700 people live in Greenridge, a small part of which lies in Newtown.

In his letter, Mr Blumenthal states that there are some alternatives to extending the Newtown water supply to Greenridge that may have less impact on the environment and also on Newtown’s water supply, and also be less costly.

One such option would be the treatment of the water drawn from Greenridge’s wells to remove the radioactivity hazard at a lower cost than extending the Newtown water supply system to Greenridge, he wrote.

Another water supply option for Greenridge would involve Brookfield First Selectman William Davidson’s proposal to extend an existing public water supply system within Brookfield to Greenridge, according to Mr Blumenthal.

“This proposed [water] line would be shorter than that which was previously contemplated by [DPUC and DPH], making it less costly. Moreover, the route of this interconnection passes other potential customers, which could further spread and reduce the costs of the project to [Greenridge] customers,” Mr Blumenthal adds.

 The content of Mr Blumenthal’s letter, and Mr Davidson’s proposal to extend an existing water system within Brookfield to Greenridge were among the many topics discussed at an August 24 DPUC public hearing on improving Greenridge’s water supply. DPH officials participated in the hearing, which was conducted at the DPUC’s offices in New Britain.

DPUC/DPH plans to conduct another as-yet unscheduled public hearing focusing on the Brookfield first selectman’s proposal to extend a water line from Silvermine Road in Brookfield to Greenridge.

Greenridge View

Marty Foncello, who formerly was the president of the now-defunct Greenridge Tax District, presented letters to the DPUC/DPH from Greenridge residents expressing their concerns about the contaminated water supply there. Mr Foncello, a Greenridge resident, also is a past Brookfield first selectman.

Mr Foncello stressed that the Greenridge residents are concerned about the health implications of their contaminated community water supply and want clean water to be provided to them soon.

Although Greenridge has eight wells in its water supply system, the neighborhood has had insufficient water, Mr Foncello said.

Mr Foncello said that state regulators’ decision to have United Water supply Greenridge with safe water was a wise decision.

United Water had started construction of its water line extension from Newtown to Brookfield in late May and had planned to provide Greenridge with a water supply from Newtown by late September. But Newtown officials’ concerns over the project resulted in state regulators having United Water halt work until points of conflict could be resolved.

Mr Foncello questioned whether extending a water system within Brookfield to Greenridge is a realistic project, in calling for an independent study of such a venture.

Newtown has enough water for the future, Mr Foncello said, adding that natural resources such as the Pootatuck Aquifer are considered to be owned by the state, not by a town. “The Pootatuck Aquifer should have plenty [of water] for everybody for years to some,” he said.

“Greenridge needs clean water now…We don’t want delays,” Mr Foncello said, in urging that the Newtown water supply be extended to Greenridge soon.

State Representative DebraLee Hovey, who represents a section of Newtown, noted that representatives of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) were not present at the DPUC/DPH hearing.

It was a flawed state law that allowed United Water to proceed with its plans to extend its Newtown water system to Brookfield without the need to submit its proposal to the DEP for an environmental impact review, she said.

Newtown officials have charged that United Water used a legal loophole in state law to avoid the need for DEP’s water diversion permit review process, which typically is required for such a water system extension.

In an August 23 letter to Ms Hovey, State Representative Christopher Lyddy, and State Senator John McKinney, Mr Blumenthal wrote that he would work with the three state legislators to close the legal loophole in state law which prevented a thorough DEP review of United Water’s plans to extend its Newtown water supply to Greenridge.  

Newtown Borough Warden James Gaston urged that the water supply system lying within Brookfield be extended to Greenridge. If the state ultimately decides that United Water’s Newtown water system should be extended to Greenridge, then an environmental impact study on such a project’s effects on the Pootatuck Aquifer should be required, he said.

United Water should have sought a water diversion permit from DEP if it wanted to extend its water system to Greenridge, he said.

Mr Gaston noted that United Water’s plans for a water system extension would include the construction of an equipment structure within the Historic District in the borough. Such construction would require approvals from the Borough Zoning Commission and the Borough Historic District Commission, he said. He noted that the borough has not yet received applications for such construction.

Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra told DPUC/DPH officials that she has challenged the DEP on why it did not require United Water to submit its water system extension plans to DEP for a water diversion permit review.

It is unclear whether the Pootatuck Aquifer contains sufficient water to provide service to an expanded geographic area, she said, adding that such a water system extension should not proceed without a clear understanding of its environmental implications.

  

First Selectman’s         Proposal

Mr Davidson explained to DPUC/DPH officials the workings of his proposal to extend water to Greenridge from within Brookfield.

He told DPUC/DPH officials that water system extension inside Brookfield can be successful, but added that it would not be simple.

“For us to be successful, we need a ton of cooperation and lots of flexibility,” he said.

At least 12 groups would need to cooperate in such a venture, he said. They include: DPUC, DPH, DEP, the Brookfield Board of Selectmen, the Brookfield Board Finance, Brookfield voters at a referendum called to approve bond financing for a water line extension, the Brookfield Water Company, the Rural Water Company, the Silvermine Water Company, the residents of Greenridge, engineers, and construction contractors, he said.

In the past, Brookfield voters have approved financing for four separate public water projects, he noted.

Extending an existing water supply system within Brookfield to Greenridge would be a cost-effective solution for Greenridge’s water problems, he said.

United Water representatives have expressed their desire to soon extend their water service to Greenridge. At an August 10 DPUC/DPH hearing, attorney Ted Backer, representing United Water, said that the company wants to proceed with its plans. Mr Davidson’s alternative water supply proposal for Greenridge raises a host of legal issues that would likely take five to seven years to resolve, Mr Backer has said.

At the August 24 session, Richard Sobolewski, supervisor of technical analysis for the state Office of Consumer Counsel, asked Timothy Michaelson of United Water whether the water firm is concerned that if Greenridge receives a new water supply through some means other than a United Water system extension it would financially adversely affect the company.

United Water is “absolutely” concerned about the prospect of not being able to recover costs already incurred on the project, Mr Michaelson said.