Storm Irene Provides Opportunities for Emergency Collaboration

Good night, Irene! At Wednesday's water commission meeting, members took stock of the challenges the tropical storm created to get public water supplies out to residents.

"The storm was definitely a challenge, and many small systems were affected," said Art O'Neill of the Connecticut Water Company whose company operates one of the three public water systems in Tolland. The other two systems are the Tolland Main Water System which is fed by two wells in River Park that serve properties south of I-84, and the Skungamaug system which serves properties north of the highway.

O'Neill said he had some mixed feelings about Connecticut Light & Power's response to storm-caused electrical outages.

"We had close to 40 generators running on our systems (across the state) and some of our major facilities did not get power for four to five days," said O'Neill.  "It didn't appear CL&P made our wells a top priority," he said.

Commission Chair Gene Koss, however, noted that some of Connecticut Water Company's main facilities are along the shoreline area which had been devastated by the downage of trees on major power lines. He said that getting to the lines to make repairs was hampered by the number of downed trees that blocked the way.

Town Engineer Jennifer Usher reported that the loss of electricity at the town's two well houses and at the town tanks created further problems as they began to see a drop in pressure.

"We always want to maintain at least a 25psi minimum pressure and while it didn't get down to that point, it was getting close," said Usher.

Usher said because the Connecticut Water Company had a generator to pump water, the town got an emergency authorization to open up an interconnector valve between the CWC system and the Skungamaug system so that CWC could feed the Skungamaug system. She said the town also got an emergency authorization from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to allow a temporary diversion permit to allow the town to draw more water from its two wells that feed the main system.

"Considering everything, the Tolland Water System and Connecticut Water did very well. I don't think we could have done anything better," said Usher.  

In other commission business, Robbie Road resident Andrew Levesque presented a request for a water main extension to the Robbie Road/Stevens/Lorraine Drive neighborhood.

Levesque said over the summer, he and some of his neighbors began experiencing high levels of salt in their well water, a factor they believe can be attributed to possible salt contamination from the salting of roads during winter ice and snow events.

"We know this can be an issue in snow belt states," said Levesque. He noted that a mitigating factor in their neighborhood in drilling new wells is the small lot sizes, which average about 3/4 acre. Additionally, according to his research, Levesque said once salt gets far enough down below ground surface, there is very little that can be done to eradicate the problem. "There is no easy, inexpensive, quick fix," he said.

Stevens Road resident Stephanie Rivera brought in a bathroom fixture that showed salt corrosion. She said the sanitarian has determined her water is not potable, so she would be unable to sell her home.

Levesque said only about four households in the neighborhood are reportedly experiencing the problem, and few of his neighbors in the development have expressed interest in bringing in a water line.

With the nearest connection about 1/3 of a mile from Lorraine Drive, the Commission estimated that an extension of the public water line would cost upwards of $750,000.

Koss said that in order to install a line, the developer would have to pass a lot of properties to get to get to the Lorraine Drive neighborhood and all of those homes in between would have to be assessed.

"Other people would have to shoulder the financial consequences of this," said Koss. "You may need to do a lot more footwork [with your neighbors]," he said. 

For now the Eastern Highlands Health District is conducting water tests to determine the cause of the elevated salt levels.