Waterlines: Spring-Summer 2007

Download

Get This Issue of Waterlines as a PDF

5 steps to help protect your drinking water

Here’s a short list of what you can do around your own home to help protect water quality.

1. Maintain your septic system. A properly designed septic system is effective at treating domestic wastewater. However, if not properly maintained, a septic system can pollute groundwater. Only use your septic system for domestic wastewater, not trash or household chemical disposal. Have a licensed septic hauler pump it out every three to five years.

2. Don’t dump into storm drains. Storm drains in the road are usually routed to the nearest wetland, stream, pond or lake. And be careful when applying pesticides or fertilizers, walking your dog, and washing and maintaining the car. Keep potential contaminants from these activities off paved surfaces where they may wash into drinking water resources.

3. Properly dispose of household hazardous waste. Paints, antifreezes, pesticides and household cleaning products have a way of collecting in our homes. The collection center, HazWaste Central, which is operated by the Regional Water Authority, will dispose of your household hazardous waste for free. For information call 401-2712.

4. Report chemical spills or other incidents that can threaten water quality by calling the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection at (860) 424-3338. Incidents that may affect our region’s water supplies should also be reported to the Regional Water Authority at (203) 562-4020.

5. Maintain native vegetation if you live along side a stream, wetland or other water body. A natural vegetated buffer along the water’s edge—unmowed grass or woodland—prevents erosion and traps contaminants.

It’s More Than a Reservoir Issue: A Pledge to Buy 3,000 Acres

To safeguard the sources of drinking water for our consumers in Greater New Haven, we are going to buy an additional 3,000 acres of watershed land over the next 10 years. Our plan also includes the sale of some 900 acres of land that are not necessary to protect the water system.

“To sustain the high level of water quality, which is expected from us every day, we simply need to protect more watershed land,” David Silverstone, president and CEO of the Regional Water Authority, said. “It’s an investment in the sources of our supply. We intend to buy land in many of the same communities where we are selling parcels. Our decision boils down to managing our assets so we ensure water quality for future generations, while minimizing the burden to ratepayers.”

The Authority budgets $3 million a year to purchase watershed land in the region. Protecting or minimizing development on a parcel of watershed property is important because it reduces the amount of non-point source pollution reaching Authority reservoirs. Natural areas like forests and wetlands offer protection because they naturally filter or trap sediment flowing into water supplies. This helps to keep treatment costs in check and ensures a reliable supply of high-quality drinking water.

We have a proud history of stewardship. Over the past two decades, we have protected 5,000 watershed acres from development by either purchasing the parcels outright or obtaining land restrictions on them. Our land holdings total 26,000 acres. The towns where we want to buy property are: Bethany, Cheshire, Durham, East Haven, Guilford, Haddam, Hamden, Killingworth, Madison, North Branford, North Haven, Orange and Woodbridge. In these towns, the parcels are in the watersheds or aquifers of our existing or future water supplies.

To offset part of the cost to acquire the future parcels, we want to sell 900 acres that are not needed for our existing or future operations. Both the towns and the state will have the first opportunity to purchase these parcels before soliciting other buyers.

To help explain the connection between land and water, we’ve created a publication, “The Land We Need for the Water We Use.” If you would like to read about our need to protect additional acres, please send an email to ask.info@rwater.com, or call 562-4020 and request a copy of the publication.

Customer Profile: A Pediatrician Encourages Parents to Reach for the Tap

Bottled water-toting parents at New Haven’s Hill Health Center faced a dilemma. They filled sippie cups with filtered or spring water because they sensed it was better for their children. However, those kids were missing out on the benefits of fluoride.

Adding fluoride to the public water supplies is one of the public health achievements of the twentieth century. Fluoride, first added to municipal water systems in the 1940s, has a topical effect that helps in stabilizing the enamel surface of teeth.

Dr. Steve Updegrove, a pediatrician at Hill Health Center, speculated about the risk of tooth decay. He wondered if the benefits of fluoride were lost as families, many on fixed incomes, were reaching for bottled water. “Parents spent additional money on the beverages without gaining additional benefits for their families,” said Updegrove.

The bottled water phenomenon is in part the result of greater weight consciousness that has led people to drink beverages without calories. “From the standpoint of the health of teeth, it’s good to buy water instead of juice or soda. But a beverage with no sugar shouldn’t also lack fluoride,” said Updegrove.

Main First he studied over 200 clinic patients to find out if they drink tap water. Over 40 percent of the patients bought bottled spring water because they thought it was better. Patients knew that fluoride prevents tooth decay, but over half didn’t know it was in tap water.

Armed with information from his study, Updegrove approached the Authority’s education department for assistance in developing materials that would be informative and fun and would appeal to youngsters and their parents. Together with the Authority they developed a brochure explaining the benefits of fluoride. The brochure’s cartoon-hero, Captain Fluoride leads youngsters through a series of games, including word puzzles and a maze of water pipes leading to a sparkling smile. This program also received support from the American Dental Association’s Harris Fund and the Federal Department of Health and Human Services.

Since the start of Captain Fluoride, “It’s gratifying to see patients come around to drinking tap water,” Updegrove said “and make the connection that fluoride is essential to childhood health.”

If you would like a copy of the Captain Fluoride brochure complete with its three puzzles, please send an email to ask.info@rwater.com, or call 562-4020.

Is This Your Backup Plan to Fix Your Home’s Sewer Line? If it is, think again.

Plunger

Have you signed up for our newest service? It’s PipeSafe Plus Sewer Line Protection. As your water experts, you’ve trusted us to make fast repairs to your broken or leaking water service lines. Now, with PipeSafe Plus Sewer, we offer the same security to customers facing problems with their sewer lines. Call 562-4020 to learn about this new program. It will be your one-call rescue.