Paul Formica, First Selectman
I was elected First Selectman in December of 2007 and was prepared to face many challenges – water was not one of them...
...yet it has turned out to be our biggest challenge. The problem is compounded by the fact that we all still get water out of our faucets everyday. The perception is the problem is not immediate. Solutions take years to develop.
Just a few short months into 2008, staff came to me with a problem I did not expect nor understand at the time. We had a water shortage for the coming summer and needed to address it, starting with mandatory water conservation. There was a process – you all know about government and the process!
When I researched the controlling ordinance, I found it had been enacted 22 years earlier – the problem had long existed and was upon us to find a solution long-term. I was also to learn other town’s face water challenges as well.
We held a water supply meeting here in this room last January to make public last year’s plight and ask for your help. Put quite simply – East Lyme has plenty of water however, our two main producing wells (900,000 gpd) get disqualified for use when corresponding stream flow heights fall below a particular threshold. Of course, that happens to occur during the dry summer months when our population nearly doubles. There is a wealth of talented operators and working water authorities who oversee and provide daily water to the residents of SE CT. All of you here – unfortunately – all of you here in a very short time will not be enough.
East Lyme – at the minimum – has had to postpone economic development projects in the last few years because we did not have a 12 month supply of water to provide for their use. That affects our grand list – our tax base. That scenario will spread throughout our region – in fact, SCWA predicts in their water supply plan – that 10 million gpd shortfalls will occur in SE CT by 2040.
This recession is giving us all a reprieve, but what will we all say when the recovery begins and permits start hitting our town halls again?
Clearly, we need to develop new supplies. East Lyme has invested millions these past two years in replacement wells, testing potential new sources and investigating new solutions. The solution begins with regionalization. We need to create the ability to share resources – literally to move water through a regional grid – much like electricity and natural gas. Partnerships are forming to get this done. One single entity – cannot provide resources necessary to solve this problem. It will take leadership from everyone in this room – we will need to combine our resources for the common good. The time to act is now – if we wait – the cost of everything goes up. This connection is inevitable – it’s just a matter of time. The 20 town mayors and First Selectmen of the SECOG have been generous with their time and talent and willingness to bring the political will to bear on this problem. We want you to know too. The COG regional water committee has worked closely with SCWA and is working with the 3 major water suppliers in the area to look for common threads that will grow into a good solution. Thanks to the generosity of Chief Elect Malerba and the Mohegan Tribe, the COG and the East Lyme / New London project has benefitted from the services of Chris Clark – Mohegan’s Chief Utility Engineer and the architect of the Thames Regional Interconnection Project that brought water under the Thames river to serve the Mohegan community.
It was Chris’s thoughtful approach, drawn from his past experience that the basis of the East Lyme / New London regional interconnect idea was born. The Tribe has generously underwritten Chris’ time to help us and the COG.
We have a plan that will move water from East Lyme through a pipe to new London’s treatment plant, then reverse the flow when we need to bring water back.
I contacted General Martin of the CT National Guard and introduced our problem and our potential solution. The General became a willing partner, as the impact on military operations became clear. Last year, we applied for a federal appropriation through Congressman Courtney’s office and were awarded a $300,000 grant toward our plan. We have submitted our plan again this year hoping for more
 
We need to construct this interconnection now for many reasons. Prices of goods / services are at historic lows. The economic development of the region is at stake – public health and safety – both from military and civilian standpoint are at risk.
As you listen to our presentation today – please consider in what way your thoughtful leadership can help this project for the good of the people is se ct. We are all stakeholders in this crisis and we will all need to think differently and act differently and work together or our residents and businesses will suffer.
Thank you for coming and after a short presentation on the project, we will have a round robin discussion to hear your thoughts.
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 Southeast Region Water Stakeholders Meeting Minutes | [05-25-10] | 111 Kb |
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