Water Main Improvements Ongoing in East Haven

The South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority is busy in East Haven.

The RWA company has three separate projects ongoing in town, which when completed, will replace a total of more than one-third of a mile of water pipes here, Kate Powell, the communication managers for New Haven-based utility company.

The first project along Austin Avenue began on Aug 22. It involves the  reconstructing of some 990 feet of an 8-inch water main.

"Except for final paving, the project should be completed by the end of October," Powell said.

The second project is along Bayshore Drive, which it began on Sept. 29. It involves the reconstructing of some 660 feet of an 8-inch water main. The work is expected to be completed by mid-November.

"We will pave it when we're finished, but pavement tends to settle over the winter," Powell said. "The final paving will be in the spring."

She added that both Bayshore Drive and Austin Avenue projects were launched due to the portions of those water mains not meeting the authority's failure criteria.

"RWA charts all main failures and whenever the level of failures meet certain criteria, the pipe becomes eligible for reconstruction. Both this project and the one on Austin Avenue are due to meeting those criteria," she said.

The third and final project, Chidsey Drive at its intersection with Main Street, began on Oct 11.

Powell said this work involves the installation of 70 feet of an 8" main water pipe, which will close a gap to "eliminate a dead end main."

This will "improve water flows through the main, leading to better fire protection and improved water quality," she said.

Power added that except for final paving, the project should be completed by the end of October.

Although all three projects are in East Haven, they are unrelated to one another. Instead, they are separate stand alone scheduled improvements along the RWA's 1,700 miles of water mains that make up the company's distribution system.

"As you might imagine, we're always working on one part of the system or another, Powell said, adding that the utility has a maintenance schedule for all its assets, "and we are always working to improve the system."

"The three East Haven projects are localized, but we will do the same thing in the other 15 towns in our water district when conditions warrant, she said.