By Marianne Sullivan, Courier Senior Staff
Writer:
CHESTER:
Last week the Connecticut
Water Company began a water main installation and replacement project on Goose Hill Road, a
project that will replace water mains the company believes could have been put
in the ground in the early 1900s.
The project will include Goose Hill Road
from where it intersects with Kings
Highway and to the north approximately 2,000 feet
to the driveway of the water company’s treatment plant. It will be a major
infrastructure upgrade, according to the water company’s John King.
“We are replacing the main
artery that delivers water to Chester, Deep
River, and Essex. We will be laying new
16-inch pipe and we will abandon the 14-inch cast iron pipe presently in use,”
he said.
He guessed the original
pipes were laid in the late 1890s or early 1900s.
“I believe the original
pipes were laid to bring water down from the reservoir,” King said. “It was
treated at the small treatment plant, and then gravity fed from there.”
The project will require
the company’s contractor, Thomas Buffington Associates, to dig a trench in the
roadway. The trenched area will be resurfaced when the construction work in
completed, King assured the Board of Selectmen last week.
Construction started
within the access driveway to the Williams Water Treatment Plant and Goose Hill Road.
The contractor will be working down the driveway toward Goose Hill Road. When complete, the new
main will replace the current 14-inch cast iron main that runs cross country
through the wooded area to the old chlorine station at the intersection of Goose Hill Road and
King’s Highway. The project is expected to be completed in August.
The water company is
offering homeowners along the construction route a $650 refund check if they
are currently using a private well but wish to connect to the new main and
become a customer during this construction project. Christopher Bogucki,
manager of the Connecticut Water Company’s special services, said the refund
check could help cover the costs of the homeowner’s water service line
installation. Persons interested should contact the water company at
1-800-286-5700 or e-mail customerservice@ctwater.com.