State Session On Water System Extension Slated
State Session On Water System Extension Slated
By Andrew Gorosko
The state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) has scheduled a public session for Thursday, June 17, in Newtown to air local concerns that the planned construction of a waterline extension from Newtown to the Greenridge residential section of Brookfield could adversely affect the Pootatuck Aquifer, which would supply the waterline.
The meeting is slated for 2 pm in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.
DPUC spokesman Philip Dukes said this week that the meeting will provide the public with an opportunity to discuss United Waterâs planned waterline extension.
At the request of state officials, United Water has halted construction of the waterline extension project until local officialsâ concerns about the project are resolved. United Water had started construction on the $4 million project along the southern end of Hawleyville Road late last month.
Town and borough officials have complained that United Water has not provided them with sufficient information to determine whether the project would have negative effects on Newtown.
A major concern involves whether the Pootatuck Aquifer holds a sufficient water reserve to extend the water system. Also, local officials have questions about the cost implications of planned water system improvements in Newtown, including some changes to water system connections for customers along the southern end of Main Street.
Newtown, borough, state, Brookfield, and water company officials met June 1 at the DPUC offices in New Britain for a technical review of the waterline extension project.
In January 2008, the DPUC and the state Department of Public Health (DPH) ordered United Water to provide potable water to Greenridge in Brookfield, 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 is considered harmful.