Image from CT DPH video on private wells testing

If You Have a Private Well, Please Get It Tested, Says State Public Health Department

Download PDF

The more than 800,000 state residents who use private wells as their main source for drinking, bathing or cooking water should have their water tested for bacteria and other contaminants, the Connecticut Department of Public Health says. Connecticut does not require annual testing of private well water, leaving voluntary self-testing the only reliable way to find out if any groundwater contaminants have entered the well. Private wells in the northeast historically have found traces of the naturally occurring chemicals in well water. The Town of Glastonbury recently announced it would be testing private well water in specific neighborhoods due to elevated levels of uranium being discovered in local private wells. “Water plays an essential role in everyone’s life.

Opioids Heroin Opioid 02-04-17

With CT Drug Overdose Deaths Still Climbing, Darien Health Director Asks State to Start Mandatory Reporting

Download PDF

Deaths from drug overdoses, primarily opioids like heroin, rose to 900 statewide in 2016 and are expected to reach 1,000 this year, and Darien Health Director David Knauf is proposing that overdose incidents (fatal or not fatal) be reported to each local health director. A number of other diseases, health conditions and deaths must be reported to local health directors and the state Medical Examiners Office now. But drug overdose incidents aren’t on that list. Knauf expects to submit testimony to the state Reportable Diseases Advisory Committee in the hope of getting its endorsement of the idea, which would have to be approved by the Connecticut Department of Public Health. He says there seems to be support for the move from other state and local health officials in Connecticut, so he’s hopeful the policy will be adopted here.

Dripping Faucet Angelo Gonzalez

State Declares Public Water Supply Emergency for Darien, Nearby Communities

Download PDF

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.