Aquarion Water Company 2016

Aquarion Asks Customers to Cut Water Consumption by 20%

Tips on How to Save Water

State Declares Public Water Supply Emergency for Darien, Nearby Communities

Outdoor Watering Restrictions Now Tighter — Even Using Hand-Held Hoses Now Banned

To Save Water, Depot Cancels Sunday’s Car/Pet Wash, Gets $500 from Aquarion

Aquarion: Plea to Stop Using Outdoor Watering Devices Is Now a Ban

Aquarion: Please Don’t Water Lawns Thru Sunday — We Need to Conserve Water

Water Main Work Thursday on Holmes Ct, Beechwood Rd, Pine St, Bouton Ln

Water Main Project to Close Intersection at Middlesex Rd & Noroton Ave on Monday

Aquarion Water Company Asks Customers: Please Conserve Water

UPDATE: Aquarion: Darien Pump Station Fixed Early — Water Your Lawns at Will

State Issues ‘Draught Advisory’ Although Water Utilities, So Far, Haven’t Asked for Conservation

Aquarion: Latest Water Main Project Announcement: Park Lane

It’s Utility Project Summer for Darien as Gas, Water Projects Dig up Streets

Water Mains Expected to be Replaced on Parts of Noroton, Mansfield Avenues, Upper Middlesex Road

Healthy Living

By David Gurliacci | November 29, 2016

Healthy Living

By David Gurliacci | September 29, 2016

Government & Politics

By David Gurliacci | September 29, 2016

Around Town

By David Gurliacci | September 26, 2016

Darien Depot

By David Gurliacci | September 25, 2016

Around Town

By David Gurliacci | September 16, 2016

Around Town

By David Gurliacci | August 18, 2016

Transportation

By David Gurliacci | August 4, 2016

Public Safety

By David Gurliacci | July 18, 2016

Around Town

By David Gurliacci | July 14, 2016

Around Town

By David Gurliacci | June 29, 2016

Government & Politics

By David Gurliacci | June 27, 2016

News

By David Gurliacci | June 27, 2016

Business

By David Gurliacci | June 15, 2016

Around Town

By David Gurliacci | June 9, 2016

With Connecticut’s drought only increasing in severity, Aquarion Water Company is urging customers throughout the southwestern part of the state to cut back on indoor water use by 20 percent. From Bridgeport to Greenwich, Aquarion’s reservoirs are between 15 and 60 percent of capacity. The company has been building temporary pipelines to balance the supply among its reservoirs. ______________
— an announcement from Aquarion Water Co. ______________
However, no end to the dry weather pattern is in sight, and state authorities are also seeking major reductions in usage.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brass_water_tap.jpg

Here’s a slew of tips on how to use less water in your household:

These tips are from this Web page on the Aquarion Water Company website:

Throughout your house

Fix leaky faucets. This one step alone could cut your water usage by almost 20 percent. Here’s how to check for leaks. For bathrooms:

Get inexpensive, water-saving aerators for your sinks. Replace shower heads with water-efficient models.

With drought conditions persisting and too little precipitation forecast for the foreseeable future, Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino today signed an order declaring a temporary 30-day public water supply emergency for four Fairfield County towns served by Aquarion Water Company (AWC): Greenwich, Stamford, Darien and New Canaan. Aquarion’s water issues are also affecting several towns in nearby Westchester County, N.Y., who are also served by AWC: Rye, Ryebrook and Port Chester. DPH is working closely with the New York State Health Department and the Westchester County Health Department to ensure an adequate water supply for all seven towns. The rarely used declaration was requested by AWC to allow the company to divert water from other sources of supply to the four Connecticut towns which are facing a substantial depletion of their public water supply as a result of ongoing drought conditions. DPH, in consultation with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA), determined that the declaration was necessary to prevent further depletion of the water supply.

Aquarion Water Company, working in cooperation with town and city officials in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien, is implementing a mandatory ban on the use of outdoor watering devices, including irrigation systems, sprinklers, soaker hoses, and hand-held hoses. This ban is effective immediately. Aquarion Water Company personnel started going door-to-door in Darien beginning this past weekend to encourage compliance. _____________

— an announcement from the Darien Police Department, slightly edited, and which adds the second paragraph above and the “Safety reminder” at the bottom to this announcement from Aquarion. _____________

Aquarion will be reminding customers about the watering ban with automated phone calls.

The drought Darien has been going through and the water restrictions imposed by Aquarion Water Co. has led to The Depot canceling (for now) its pet wash/car wash that was scheduled for Sunday. “We will reschedule for a later date so let those cars get and stay dirty!” the Depot said in an announcement. The new date is Sunday, Oct.

Aquarion Water Company, working in cooperation with town and city officials in Darien, Greenwich, Stamford and New Canaan, is implementing a mandatory ban on the use of outdoor watering devices, including irrigation systems, sprinklers, and soaker hoses. This ban is effective immediately. Aquarion will be reminding customers about the watering ban with automated phone calls. Outdoor watering activities using a hand-held hose will be allowed for the time being. “We are telling our customers to turn off their irrigation systems and sprinklers for the season,” said Charles V. Firlotte, Aquarion President and CEO.

Anton Croos Water Sprinkler Wikimedia Commons 8-18-16

Aquarion Water Company, working in cooperation with town and city officials in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan and Darien, is encouraging its customers to conserve water by not watering lawns through this Sunday, Aug. 21, due to the recent rain. Customers are also urged to limit lawn irrigation to a maximum of twice a week (any two days) for the remainder of the season. This applies to irrigation systems, hose-end sprinklers, and soaker hoses, while use of a hand-held hoses for watering is acceptable at any time. Aquarion will be reminding customers about water conservation with automated phone calls as well. “We are asking our customers in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan and Darien to continue to conserve water and reduce non-essential outdoor water use,” said Charles V. Firlotte, Aquarion President and CEO.

Work on water mains was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Thursday and continue to sometime this afternoon on these parts of Holmes Court, Beechwood Road and Pine Street in Darien, Aquarion Water Company announced on its website:

Replacement of a 6-inch water main, with work continuing until sometime between 1 and 3 p.m. in the area of 1 to 15 Holmes Ct. and 3 Beechwood Road. About 10 customers affected. Replacement of an 8-inch water main, with work continuing until sometime between 4 and 6 p.m. on Pine Street and Bouton Lane (no specific areas or house numbers given). About 10 customers affected.

Start your morning commute well before 7:30 a.m. on Monday if it takes you past the intersection of Middlesex Road and Noroton Avenue — both roads will be closed there from about 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Darien police have announced. The reason is Aquarion Water Company’s ongoing water main replacement project along Noroton Avenue. It won’t just be a lane closure — the entire intersection will be shut down as extensive excavation takes place to get the new pipe in the ground, police said. Here’s the full text of the announcement, which Darien police just emailed at 12:08 p.m.:
Traffic Advisory
Location: Middlesex Road and Noroton Avenue
Date of traffic interruption: Monday July 18
Time of traffic interruption: approximately 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Reason for roadway closure/traffic detour: water main installation directly in the intersection requiring substantial excavation and heavy equipment movement. The Darien Police Department is issuing this traffic advisory to notify motorists of a roadway closure and traffic detour scheduled for Monday, July 18, 2016.

With a lack of significant rainfall, and as a result of the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s advisory for water conservation, Aquarion Water Company is asking its customers to conserve water and reduce non-essential outdoor water use. Connecticut is currently experiencing conditions ranging from “abnormally dry” to “moderate drought” due to an extended dry spell, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). With below average rainfall and extremely high water demand compared to the same period last year, Aquarion’s reservoirs and wells are below normal capacity. __________
— an announcement Thursday from Aquarion Water Company
__________
As a result, Aquarion is requesting customers reduce outdoor water use by limiting lawn irrigation to a maximum of twice a week (customers can select any two days) if they are using an irrigation system or hose-end sprinkler. Use of a hand-held hose for watering is allowed at any time.

UPDATE 6:16 p.m., Wednesday — Aquarion Water Co. says the pump station in Darien is now fixed and customers in town should feel free to water their lawns as much as they want. The company originally asked customers not to water lawns (unless by hand) until Thursday evening, but at 4:52 p.m., the company announced in a brief news release that the pump station had been fixed early. Here’s the entire statement:
Aquarion Water Company is pleased to inform Darien customers that the pumping facility that experienced a water leak is back in service. Customers may resume normal lawn irrigation activities.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health issued a “Draught Advisory” on Monday, recommending that customers of public water systems “follow any water conservation recommendations that may be requested by their water utility.” As of 4 p.m. Monday, no water conservation recommendation has been posted on the website of Aquarion Water Co., which serves Darien residents. For much of late 2015 and early 2016, the utility was asking residents in Darien and many other communities to conserve water because of dry weather lowering the amount of water in the utilty’s reservoirs. In a recent presentation given to the Darien Board of Selectmen, Aquarion officials said outdoor water usage (watering grass, for instance) is much greater than indoor use during warmer weather when lawns are watered and pools refilled. Here’s the full news release issued Monday (boldface emphasis added by Darienite.com):

With precipitation across Connecticut down as much as six inches over the last 90 days, the Department of Public Health (DPH) today issued a Drought Advisory.

About eight customers will be affected by this late Monday afternoon project on Park Lane, Aquarion announced. The water utility also has other scheduled water main replacement project in town this summer. Here’s the announcement from the Aquarion website:

Updated: Monday, June 27, 2016 2:13 PM

Street Location of Repair: Park Ln – Darien, CT

Size of Water Main: 8″

Estimated Restoration Time: 4:15 PM – 6:15 PM

Number of Customers Affected: Approximately 8 customers

Streets Affected:

Street
House Numbers (approximate)

Park Ln
Between West Ave and Holmes Ave

During and after the outage event, some customers may experience discolored water. You may want to use stored water for drinking and cooking, and delay clothes washing until water is clear. Run your cold water faucet until the water appears clear, prior to resuming use for these purposes.

Eversource is replacing gas service lines beneath 5,000 feet of Darien streets this summer as Aquarion replaces about as many feet of water main lines under other town roads, according to separate announcements Wednesday.

Two of the projects start around June 20, according to the announcements. A third project, replacing a water line, starts soon after July 4. Natural Gas

For the gas lines, in a project which is completely separate from the planned extension of natural gas lines in town, West Avenue will see construction crews from the Stamford Border to Moore Street, on Moore Street itself as well as on Holmes Avenue, Robinson, Brown, Catherine, Hazel, and Kelsey Streets. Other streets where pipes will be replaced: Holmes Avenue, Robinson, Brown, Catherine, Hazel, Kelsey and Moore streets. Work is expected to end by September.

« August 2022 »

Aquarion Water Company is planning to replace just over a mile of water main pipes under stretches of Noroton Avenue, Mansfield Avenue and Middlesex Road this summer. Work was tentatively scheduled to start on June 20 on both the Noroton Avenue and Mansfield Avenue/Middlesex Road areas, Daniel Lawrence, Aquarion’s director of engineering and planning, told the Board of Selectmen at the board’s regular meeting last Monday. “We’ll do our very best to finish up before school begins” this fall, Lawrence said. Darien’s water either comes from reservoirs in Stamford or down a regional pipeline from elsewhere in Fairfield County, Aquarion officials told the board. Aquarion’s regional pipeline takes water from a point on Hemlock Reservoir at the northern end of the town of Fairfield (two other nearby bodies of water, the Saugatuck and Aspetuck reservoirs, feed into the Hemlock).