by Dave Kuzminski, May 1999
The Portland
Water Company was incorporated in 1889 with capital of $100,000, which
was bonded for $75,000. In 1889 the Town exempted the water company from
paying taxes for a period of ten years, with a provision that the Town
could also purchase the water company for a price set by three commissioners
appointed by the Superior Court. In 1913 the company was purchased by
a Boston businessman, Mr. Dewey. His superintendent at the time was a
Mr. Mckernan, who operated an office on the east side of Main Street adjacent
to Spring Street.
The revenue in 1913 was approximately $9,000
per year. In 1943 it was approximately $21,000. In 1945, it was purchased
by the Town of Portland after getting a bill authorizing the Town to acquire
the system through the State Legislature. The town purchased the system
for $190,000, with bonds bearing interest at 1.4%, to be retired in 20
years.
At the time, the superintendent was the
town blacksmith, Harry Brooks. Walt Dower Sr. was the next
superintendent for the water works. He retired in the spring of 1953,
and was succeeded by Joseph Seiferman later that year. Joe Seiferman
was a fixture in the water department for many years and was responsible
for many of the improvements that are still serving the town to this day.
He was given the responsibility of Public Works Director under First Selectman
Jack Keefe. Joe retired in December of 1988.
In 1947, the town experienced a severe water
shortage and had to pump directly out of the quarry, which had to be pumped
24 hours a day for 60 days! The water was chlorinated and pumped directly
into the system.
In order to increase the town’s safe yield (capacity to meet peak
demand periods), a new gravel packed well was sunk on Glastonbury Road
in 1951. This property later became the location of the existing Town
Garage. The pumping capacity of the new well was 500,000 gallons a day.
This well is still producing water today during summer’s peak demand.
During 1952 and 1953, a .5 million gallon
water tank was constructed on High Street along the now high school driveway
which better supplies water to residents on the higher elevation of High
Street. The Bartlett Street pump station was also built at this time and
is used to refill the tank during low demand time.
In 1964, construction of a new dam was started
at the reservoir to increase the capacity of water reserve from 65 million
gallons to 125 million gallons. A new 1 million gallon storage tank was
also installed on High St to better serve customers at the top of High
St. A.R. Lombardi was hired to write a water supply plan in 1980 in order
to comply with the Health Department’s Safe Drinking Water Act. Such
plans are now produced every five years to help the town prepare for future
demands, while assessing its current infrastructure to meet these demands.
Joe Seiferman retired in 1989 and was succeeded by Mark O’Connell
and now Richard Kelsey.
Due to the town’s need for an expanded
water supply, along with requirements for filtering surface water supplies
(reservoirs) from the Safe Drinking Water Act, Nathan L. Jacobson Associates
designed a plan for 7 wells along the Connecticut River on the Anderson
and Goodrich properties. This plan recommended replacing the existing
reservoir with a well system to avoid building a filtration plant. After
extensive environmental impact studies, DEP rejected the plan in 1991.
The reservoir was reevaluated at this time
for feasibility. The diversion permit was then revised to developing 2
wells instead of 7 on the Anderson property to supplement the existing
reservoir. The plan was crafted in a two-phase approach with phase 1 making
improvements to the reservoir and constructing a filtration plant. In
order to do this, a land swap was arranged with the State of Connecticut
to facilitate the new plant. Phase 2 consisted of developing 2 wells by
the river and installing a raw water transmission main from Strongs Avenue
to the reservoir. The diversion permit was finally secured in 1992, after
spending well over $300,000. Pilot testing of filtration plant equipment
commenced along with the development of contract documents for the filtration
plant.
In June of 1993 a Consent Order was signed
by the Connecticut Department of Public Health to have a filtration plant
operational by 1/1/97. In November of 1994 a town referendum authorized
a bond issue of $1,400,000, bringing the total bond authorization to $7,400,000
for much needed improvements to the town’s water system.
By 1995, the filtration plant design was essentially complete and all
permits were received and in place. At this time Portland became aware
that the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) in Hartford was willing
and able to provide water to the Town of Portland. In April of 1995, officials
from MDC made a presentation to the Portland Board of Selectmen. At this
time approximately $300,000 was expended on filtration plant design, pilot
testing, land exchange and surveys. The Board of Selectmen then voted
to further explore the possibility an interconnection with MDC.
After a series of round table meetings,
projected development costs for the interconnection were estimated at
$4,500,000, $2,900,000 less than the proposed $7,400,000 for the construction
of the filtration plant. The interconnection also gave us the capacity
to eliminate the development of the Strongs Avenue well fields which would
have cost an additional $500,000. Portland’s projected demands would
than be provided for within MDC’s safe yield and approved diversion
capacity. A joint diversion permit was required for the interconnection.
In January of 1996 a contract was signed
between MDC and the Town of Portland to purchase filtered water from MDC
via a new transmission line to be constructed between South Glastonbury
and Portland. In order to satisfy the diversion permit requirement in
April of 1996, MDC and the town retained the firm of Milone and MacBroom
to prepare the diversion permit application. In December the permit application
was filed with the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP). In April of 1997 The Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA)
filed an intervener status with the State of Connecticut to oppose the
project. A long series of negotiations began with FRWA, MDC and the Town
of Portland to hammer out a compromise on the project. A slow review process
was then ensued by DEP.
In June of 1997 the consent order that was
signed in 1993 with the State of Connecticut Health Department was amended
to have all work associated with the MDC interconnection complete and
operational by 12/3/99 or receive a penalty of $100,000 and a $200.00
fine per day.
With slow arduous negotiations continuing
with FRWA, DEP began public hearings to discuss the concerns of interveners.
After a year of intense negotiation an agreement was finally signed to
address the concerns of FRWA. This agreement eliminated their opposition
to the diversion permit. The diversion permit was than forwarded from
the Department of Public Health Officer to the Commissioner of DEP for
signing. After four long years from the initial signing of the contract
with MDC, the Department of Environmental Protection signed and issued
the long awaited diversion permit in January of this year.
As of the writing of this article two contracts
have been signed for the installation of the pipeline, with construction
expected to commence May 1. Design and construction for two new tanks
at the existing reservoir is expected to begin early summer. Portland
is finally going to get filtered water! The down side to this is that
Portland water rates (one of the lowest in the state for many years) are
now going have to reflect all of the mandated improvements. The expected
rate increase will more than double the average residential customer’s
rate. This will be somewhat buffered by the adoption of quarterly billing
which has been in effect for the last two billings. Instead of paying
your bill semi-annually you now pay quarterly, which has been the norm
in the industry for many years.
Under the watchful eye of present Public
Works Director Richard Kelsey, who is working tirelessly with department
staff preparing the water department for the new millennium, the town
is making significant improvements on its aging infrastructure. Some of
the latest improvements include total rehabilitation and replacement of
the Glastonbury Road pump, replacement of the heating system at the Chlorinator
Building as well as main improvements on Coe Avenue Ext.
It is now more important than ever for residents
to continue to be conscious of conserving and using water wisely.
Portland has been a leader for many years in conservation efforts, not
only on a local and state level but also on the national as well. With
the help of my Walter the Water Saver, I have been privileged to
educate children throughout our school and the state for many years. I
have also been involved with implementing an educational outreach program
with four area high schools on developing conservation plans, as well
as appearing on Connecticut Public Television to spread the conservation
ethic. These projects won acclaim at the national convention in Dallas,
Texas this past June. Anyone interested in learning more on how to conserve
water can log on to Walter the Water Saver’s Web Site at
or call me
at the town hall at 860.342.-6769
