In 1997 Clinton was ordered by the state to fix water contamination issues in town, including the Rocky Ledge area. More than 20 years later, there is still no resolution in sight for that location and no clear answers on how to proceed.

Many of the more than 120 homes in the Rocky Ledge study area (defined as Rocky Ledge Drive, Woodland Drive, Margo Lane, Oakwood Lane, Happy Acres Road, and homes on the west side of Route 81 between Happy Acres Road and Rocky Ledge Drive) were found to have high levels of nitrate and coliform bacteria in their well water, most likely due to failing septic systems.

A substantial number of the houses on these streets were built before modern zoning laws were enforced, and thus face issues such as having wells closer to septic tanks than is allowed, a problem compounded by a relatively shallow bedrock layer that gives standard septic systems insufficient depth to function.

A project, known as the Rocky Ledge Water Main project, was intended to satisfy a state mandate that requires the town to solve its contaminated groundwater issue.

The water main would supply the homes in the area with water that is safe to drink and eliminate the need for a well. By eliminating the well, the size of the septic systems on the properties can be expanded. The hazards of not fixing the contamination issue can be dire. One family member of a resident in the study area told the Harbor News in February that the household had to replace three hot water heaters in eight years and was also informed not to drink the water.

“It is my understanding that discussions and implementation steps on the project came to a halt over the ultimate financing of the water line. The project would have been financed as a partnership with the Connecticut Water Company,” said Town Manager Karl Kilduff, who started his position with the town in January.

“I planned on meeting with representatives of the water company, but like so much of life now, that meeting was delayed due to the demands COVID-19 has placed on all of us. I am hopeful that a meeting can be had to discuss the matter more fully with the water company. As with any major infrastructure project, the financing plan is essential along with identifying the funding partners,” said Kilduff.

Reached for comment on June 25 to see if there was any update, Kilduff confirmed he’d reached out to attempt to schedule a virtual meeting or conference call, but no meeting was yet set.

A Plan in Place

In the years since the order, the town tried to make progress on the issue, but it is far from resolved. In 2017, the town appeared to be on the cusp of a breakthrough. That year the Board of Finance (now a defunct board under the current charter) decided to table its decision on whether to approve an appropriation and bond authorization for $5.15 million for the Rocky Ledge water main. The project would have been added to that year’s election ballot as a measure that voters could approve.

Two proposals were presented to the board: Under one proposal, the town would pay for 75 percent of the project, while homeowners paid for the remaining, on-lot costs. The other proposal would have the town pay for the whole project.

Due to the substantial on-lot costs, officials expressed a preference for the plan that featured the town paying for the entire project. However, the finance board tabled the project due to uncertainty with that year’s budget.

“The project got designed, it became a town project,” said Water Pollution Control Commission Chairman Matt Kennedy. “There were several attempts in earnest to comply with the order.”

Carlos Esguerra, a sanitary engineer with the Water Planning and Management Division of the state’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) said that Rocky Ledge is just one of the wastewater issues Clinton is faced with, and not even the most the critical.

Esguerra said that the Long Hill area and the coastal areas were actually deemed a higher priority than the Rocky ledge area. Sea level rise and climate change contribute to making the coastal area a particularly problematic area.

Esguerra estimated it would cost up to $60 million to fix the wastewater issues in town, partly because it would require putting in a low-pressure sewer system in some areas. Addressing all the issues can be done in phases as opposed to all at once.

As Esguerra recalled, the town was considering tackling the Rocky Ledge project because it would be sign of good faith to DEEP that the town was making progress on fixing the wastewater problem and that project carried a lower price tag.

Finding Funding

However, getting even just the Rocky Ledge project funded proved difficult. In 2017 the town was seeking to have the Connecticut Water Company to pay a portion of the project in addition to using grants and loans. Initially the company was receptive to the idea, according to town leaders. Then-first selectman Bruce Farmer told the Board of Selectmen in summer 2017 that he thought the company would offer a “substantial contribution.”

After a merger with SJW Group (a San Jose, California based water company) was announced, in April 2018, the water company changed its mind on contributing to the project. Reached for comment on March 30, a Connecticut Water official said that the project is “squarely in the town’s court.”

The last time the town publicly weighed in on the project was an update posted on the town’s website in summer 2018, more than 18 months ago. That post states that “due to both the economic climate and structural changes at the” Connecticut Water Company, none of the funding sources the town had been pursuing were available and the town would continue working to find a solution. However, since that time there has been no progress, and the citizens in the study area continue to deal with contamination issues.

Even though the town is under a consent order, Kennedy said that the state can’t force the town to spend money it doesn’t have on a project.

Kennedy and the commission have worked to implement a Wastewater Facilities Plan that address other wastewater issues in town in addition to the Rocky Ledge project. But solving that problem is still something that needs to tended to. Kennedy is “optimistic” that the project will get done, but acknowledged finding a way to fund the project still has to be worked out.