Huge Water Project OK'd In Southington, What Roads Will Be Impacted?

SOUTHINGTON, CT — As expected, town officials last week approved millions of dollars in bonding packages allowing for a massive overhaul of Southington's water system.

In eight separate votes, all unanimous, the Southington Town Council approved four separate ordinances, as well as four separate agreements with the Southington Water Department, for millions of dollars in water upgrades in town.

The votes, taken at the April 14 council meeting, came after a public hearing on the project was closed after minimal testimony was offered by members of the public.

In total, the project will cost the quasi-public Southington Water Department more than $14 million to complete.

According to town officials, the water project entails four components:

• $3,586,730 to design and build a new treatment building for the Southington Water Department's "Well No. 10."

• $3.5 million for general water main improvements.

• $3.5 million for Phase I of designing, building, and replacing water main pipes/connections, including those with lead piping.

• $3.5 million for Phase II of designing, building, and replacing water main pipes/connections, including those with lead piping.

Douglas Arndt, superintendent of the Southington Water Department, was on hand April 14 to brief the council on the project.

He said it will focus on older areas of water lines, such as those on Academy Street, Oak Street, and Vermont Avenue.

Arndt said other impacted sections are tentatively slated to be Berlin Avenue, Lacey Road, Berkley Avenue and Taunton Avenue.

"These projects will be focused on the older areas," he said. "Some of these areas may be removed from the budget."

He said the department will be removing about 125 of the over 300 "goosenecks," which are a type of water lines that bend and turn.

According to Arndt, the department has been testing since the early 1990s for lead and, to his knowledge, has not had any lead in the water system.

Despite that, Arndt said the department plans to remove all the older pipes to upgrade the system. "We're removing these as a precautionary measure," Ardnt said.

The project will be done in three phases, he said, and it will be coordinated with future paving projects slated to impact those roadways in the future.

The timeline for completion wasn't complete, though Arndt estimated fall 2026 would be the latest the project could be completed.

Southington Town Council Chairman Paul Chaplinsky urged town officials and the water department to work together to prioritize the first three roadways mentioned.

He said those specific roads are in bad shape and in need of repaving. The hope is to repave the roads after the new water lines are installed.

"I really feel that we have to get these roads prioritized. I mean, these people have been waiting so long," said Chaplinsky. "We can't afford to do a road that is not Oak, Academy, Vermont, first. Unless it's, technically, an issue with hydraulics or something."

"These roads are probably the worst that I've seen," Chaplinsky said of the road conditions there.

Ardnt said the water department and Southington's public works department are collaborating on project logistics.

As for why the town needed to bond the money first, Southington Town Manager Alex Ricciardone has said the department, as a separate, quasi-public entity from the town, is not able to take on debt.

So, he explained, what happens is the town assumes the debt and is paid back by the department, adding that debt from this project is not subject to the town's bond rating.

The water department is also getting 50 percent state funding for the project, Arndt said last month.

For the minutes of the April 14 Southington Town Council meeting, click on this link.

From April 11: 'Massive Water System Overhaul Planned In Southington'