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Easements Obtained for Proposed Water Main Extension in Guilford

The proposal for a water main extension to service certain waterfront communities is flowing along. At the Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on Feb. 10, town officials announced that all easements for the water main have been obtained and the town can now move forward with the next step of the project.

The easements are permissions for the town to access private and state property to install the underground water mains. The water main extension is expected to stretch over 2.4 miles and cost approximately $3.1 million, according to town documents.

The proposed water main could service 145 homes in Mulberry Point, Tuttles Point, and Long Cove. To move forward with the proposed project, the town needed to secure property easements for the water main. At the BOS meeting, in-house counsel Pam Millman said the town had received the last of the seven easements needed.

“A year ago November, this board was instructed by the Board of Finance to obtain all of the easements for the route so that we could hold them in escrow before proceeding to referendum and take all the additional steps that we need to take,” she said. “The conditions of the escrow are a successful town referendum, a successful town meeting to have the town vote on the easements because under our town charter that is required.”

Obtaining the easements was the next step in moving the project to referendum. The town had previously hired an engineer for the project and signed a contract with the Connecticut Water Company (CWC) to service the water main. Now, Health Director Dennis Johnson said the next step is to contact the 145 households.

“We are mailing out request for commitments to the residents in the area to try to obtain at least a 40 percent commitment rate to hook-up to the water main once it is installed,” he said. “That commitment is required in order for CWC to release their share of the project.”

The rate of contribution from CWC is dependent upon the percentage of the 145 homeowners in the area who commit to the project. If 40 to 60 percent of homeowners commit, CWC will contribute $1 million. If 60 to 80 percent of homeowners commit, CWC would contribute $1.4 million to the project. If greater than 80 percent of homeowners commit, CWC will contribute $1.5 million.

After CWC’s contribution, the remaining cost of the project will not be distributed town-wide, but will be distributed among homeowners who are direct beneficiaries of the water main extension. The town has applied for Drinking Water Revolving Funds (DWRF), a low-interest loan from the State of Connecticut that in 2012 became available for the project, contingent upon a successful referendum.

According to town documents, the 145 homeowners in the area could end up paying between approximately $17,000 to $14,000 for the water main in addition to connection costs and adjusted water bills; all estimates are dependent on the percentage of residents who commit to the project.

Residents in the area have until early April to respond to the commitment or service request agreement letters. The level of commitment will determine the next step for the project according to Johnson.

“If the commitment level is greater than 40 percent, then the project will move forward to the BOS” to approve and set a referendum date, he said.

If an above 40 percent commitment level is achieved, the town is looking at a tentative referendum date of May 30.