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06/27/2017 12:00 AMEstablishing a reliable source of clean drinking water for 120 Clinton households got a little closer when an updated, estimated $4.6 million water main extension plan was presented to the Board of Finance last week.
Christie Wager of consultant CDM Smith and Matthew Kennedy of the Water Pollution Control Commission (WPCC) gave a presentation on the status of the Rocky Ledge Area Water Main Extension project, including outlining the estimated costs of the project.
Rocky Ledge, officially known as the Rocky Ledge Study Area, is an area of Clinton that encompasses Rocky Ledge Drive, Woodland Drive, Margo Lane, Oakwood Lane, Happy Acres Road, and homes on the west side of Route 81 between Happy Acres Road and Rocky Ledge Drive. Many of the houses in these streets were built before the modern zoning laws were adopted, and thus face issues such as having wells closer to septic tanks than is allowed.
Due to a consent order signed in 1997 with the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, the town is required to address community pollution issues. Kennedy called the study area “a very unique study area” during the presentation and cited the small distance between lots and the shallow bedrock present there as helping create “a perfect storm.”
During a testing of the well water in rocky ledge it was discovered that a number of the homes contained water that was contaminated. The test revealed high levels of nitrate and coliform bacteria. Additionally, the pH level in the area was much lower than normal. Kennedy specified the drinking water contamination as what made the area unique.
By installing the water main, the Rocky Ledge Study Area homes will get safe drinking water, the 1997 Consent Order requirements would be met, and money would be saved as the project is estimated to cost only half as much as it would to install a sewer system in the area.
Kennedy called the water main the “most feasible and most economic solution,” adding, “It is our opinion from our research that the town has a responsibility at least in part because the town allowed the development to take place in the way that it did.”
The total cost of the project is estimated to be $4.6 million, of which $3.6 million would be for the construction of the main and $1.3 of which would account for the work to connect each home to the water main.
The average cost to connect per home, which would be the responsibility of the property owners, could be as high $11,000. Under this proposal, the town would pay 75 percent of the cost of the project.
Clinton is eligible to apply for a 20-year loan with two percent interest. The town has applied for a $500,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant, while the Connecticut Water Company has agreed to provide money based on how many of the approximately 120 houses in the area connect to the main.
As an added benefit to the proposed plan, 24 fire hydrants will be installed in parts of the study area which would mean the Volunteer Fire Department would no longer need to tank water into the area as it currently must.
The Board of Finance asked the WPCC to conduct a cost benefit analysis for doing the project as a homeowner. Kennedy said the WPCC would go back and continue working on finalizing the proposal. A public hearing would be held on the project at a future date.
According to officials, the town could vote on the finalized project proposal at a referendum in November.