Noank Water Company Marks 50 Years

Russ Fowler knows if his phone rings and the caller asks for “Rusty,” it's someone who has lived in Noank a long time.

“Rusty” was his nickname as a boy, long before he was superintendent of the Noank Water Company. He's the seventh person to have the job, and he's had it 14 years.

“When someone calls up at 2 a.m. and says, ‘Rusty, I got a problem at the house,’ I know it’s a Noanker who knew me when I grew up. So it’s a different kind of service," Fowler said. "It’s not an answering machine.”

A milestone

The water company celebrates 50 years this year, at a time when other utilities are struggling with failing infrastructure and rising rates. Fowler is proud to acknowledge the milestone, even as he tackles the demands of the job.

He and his one assistant, Frank Lewis, run into customers while eating sandwiches at Carson’s Variety Store, so they hear quickly if something's amiss. The two also serve on the Noank Fire Department.

“Whenever we get a call, most of the time, I know the people,” Fowler said.

His family also has a place in history of the district's water system. Fowler's father, Lindsay Fowler, was chairman of the Noank Water Commission when the village broke ground and installed the first pipe in 1962.

The first system

The struggle to bring water to the village started long before, however.

In 1899, Deacon Robert Palmer had 1,000 men working at the Noank Shipyard, and he built a system for fire protection and drinking water.

It included a water tower on Cedar Lane, a line that extended across Main Street and down Pearl Street, and four Corey hydrants for the town. Palmer wanted his neighbors to be able to access water if they need it.

“It was really Noank’s first water system,” Fowler said. Houses relied on wells and cisterns; people collected rainwater in downspouts, then stored it in holding tanks.

Several tries

In the early 1900s, C.W. Morse came in and took over the shipyard, and expanded the work using government contracts.

He eventually floated a proposal to the village to install a water system and pay half if the village would tie in. The cost was $50,000. People didn’t go for it.

In the following years, more proposals came up, becoming more and more expensive.

Then in 1958, the community started its own review.

“The prime concern was by that time the population had grown so big that Noank had a serious problem with fire protection and well capacity,” Fowler said.  The state Department of Transportation was also extending Route 215, so the ground would be open anyway. The village went forward.

The water system was finished in December 1962 and cost $463,893.

The system today

Today the system is connected to 725 houses and 31 businesses. It has 14.5 miles of pipe, 10.5 of which were part of the original structure.

Fowler said he's struck by how well made it was; on those occasions when he's unearthed pipe to run extensions, he said he can see the manufacturer’s name on the side, “as if it had just come off the shelf.”

In 2006, the Noank Water Company was recognized for “outstanding operation” by the Atlantic States Rural Water & Wastewater Association, a private, non-profit organization.

Fowler said at some point, the system will need to replace pipe and make improvements. But he’s pleased with how well it’s done.

“We’re proud of it,” Fowler said. “It was a long battle.”