By Dirk Perrefort
Staff Writer
Updated: 01/28/2009 08:19:16 PM EST
NEW FAIRFIELD - Residents have approved using federal money to study building a new water main in the center of town.
About 50 people at a Town Meeting on Thursday voted overwhelmingly in favor of using a $151,000 grant the town received from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003 for the project.
First Selectman John Hodge said the money would pay for an engineering study to determine what would be necessary to run a water main to the town center.
The study would also look at possible water sources, including wells already located on the Dunham condominium property.
The Dunham developer, Hodge said, is transferring control of its wells to Rural Water, a private company.
A portion of the federal money will also be used to run a water main about 1,000 feet from the condo complex to the town's new senior center, which is now under construction.
Water needs to be brought to the town center because of a decades-old contamination problem. A dry cleaning business was once located in the shopping center where Shaw's is now located.
Hodge said because Grand Union, which owned the property, has long since gone bankrupt, and the dry cleaning company no longer exists, the responsibility of providing clean water falls to the town. The state, however, will likely pay for the project.
"Unfortunately, when pollution takes hold, it can affect a wide area and the values of properties," said Claire Luks, who owns Luks Realty in
Fieldstone Plaza on Route 37. "The fact that the town is moving forward to address it and the state is involved is very positive." Hodge said about 20 properties in the town center would be able to hook up to the water line, affecting about 50 businesses. The properties currently use well water that has to be tested regularly for contamination.
He added that town officials are in the process of negotiating a consent order with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
"Typically in a situation like this, the town would sign the consent order with the DEP, acknowledging that there is an issue and that they are committed to addressing it," said Dennis Schain, a spokesman for the DEP. "We need that kind of agreement to free up state bonding money for the project."
Schain added state officials wouldn't force the town to complete the project - as contained in the future order - until money becomes available.
Hodge said he doesn't want to use one dime of local taxpayer money to pay for the project. There could be some local costs, however, if the town decides to install fire hydrants in the center of town and connect them to the water main.
Contact Dirk Perrefort at dperrefort@newstimes.com or at (203) 731-3358.
