Replacement of Maritime Aquarium Chillers Will Cost $800K Total

The Maritime Aquarium will be getting chilly this winter.

The aquarium will be replacing one of two air conditioning chillers during the winter months with a $400,000 state grant.

Dave Truedson, director of operations at the Maritime, said the chillers have outlived their time.

"Right now we have two chillers that are beyond their useful life. (They're) working but could go at any time," Truedson said. "The downtime and the maintenance repairs are more frequent."

He said there's no need to worry about the animals though.

"It doesn't cool the water for our tanks, it just cools the air for our visitors and our faculty," Truedson said.

The air conditioning cools the 140,000 square foot facility. The repairs have yet to be officially scheduled but will be taken care of during the "heating season," Truedson said.

"We have to still go out to bid and schedule a time during the winter to replace the chiller so we won't be down," Truedson said. "Itll be during the winter months."

Gov. Dannel Mallor and Senator Bob Duff announced the grant June 14 and said the money will essentially be going toward tourism.

"Travel and tourism activities in Connecticut generate $11.5 billion annually in economic activity and are responsible for 110,000 jobs.  It’s an important [sic] that we continue to drive this important sector of our economy forward," Malloy said in a released statement June 14.

Duff emphasized the Maritime Aquarium's age as a factor in why it received the grant.

"The Maritime Aquarium is about to celebrate 25 years of bringing Long Island Sound creatures into the city, and these critical repairs will keep them going for many more years to come," Duff said in a released statement.

Truedson said he isn't sure yet where the money for the second chiller will come from and when that will be replaced.

"We're trying to fundraise," he said. "Ideally we would like to do both at the same time, that'd be more cost effective, but (it depends) on the funding."