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- Category: Past Issues
'Non-snow'
won't hurt water levels
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- While water rates were recently increased significantly to pay for special projects and wells the lack of snow will NOT be one of the reasons ratepayers will see their water bills rise.
Interim Water Pollution Control Authority Director Jerry Beausoleil said the lack of snow, and therefore snow melt, should not affect rates or result in water bans. Several years ago, it might have made a difference as a portion of the water supply for Putnam came from Roseland Lake and the Little River. However, the town signed a consent order with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, promising not to take water from those sources if the river drops below a certain level. When drought hit in the summer of 2010, water bans went into effect. Since then, the town has signed a contract to interconnect with the Connecticut Water Company. The company is paid $125,000 per year (for 10 years) to supply supplemental water to Putnam through a connection off Tracy Road.
Beausoleil said if there were to be a problem, because of lack of snow melt, it would not manifest itself until June or July, but likely won't be a problem regardless. The town can get up to 800,000 gallons per day from Connecticut Water. The amount the town may take, per year, is between 22 and 24 million gallons. Even if the lack of snow resulted in a reduced water supply, that contract amount, combined with the town's three water wells, would likely be enough.
The interconnection contract and the seven new wells the town has drilled are part of the consent order with the state. Currently, the town is in the process of getting all seven new wells permitted by the state. Beausoleil said the town hopes that between July and December the permits would come through and the wells can come on line.
Those seven new wells cost about $3.8 million. Although partially funded with grants, low-interest loans from the USDA must be paid back and that accounts for part of the rate hike. Paying for the intricacies of the consent order also figure into the new rates. The new rates, approved at the March 7 town meeting, include a 20-percent increase on Jan. 1, 2012, on July 1, 2012, on Jan. 1, 2013 and on Jan. 1 2014. Connection fees and other fees also went up.
In addition, according to Beausoleil, the town is currently taking inventory of the ancient water pipes which must be replaced.
"It doesn't matter how good a quality the water is if it's then running through old pipes," he said.
He said officials believe that a "significant amount" of the town's pipes are more than 100 years old. Over the length of the replacement project, he said it may cost up to $20 million. Currently CME Engineering of Woodstock is completing a hydrologic modeling study. Beausoleil said the town will move up its annual spring flushing schedule to the week of April 9 so that tests can be done the following week for that study.
The town hopes the study will be done in May and it intends to pursue grants and low-interest loans from groups including the Rural Water Development group and the USDA, to cover part of the cost.