East Lyme, New London embark on plan to share water

East Lyme - With the region facing a predicted 10-million-gallon-a-day water shortfall by 2040, the clock is ticking for cities and towns in southeastern Connecticut to start to address the problem.

East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica, whose town has battled water shortages for nearly 20 years, said he wants to start working toward what he believes is the solution: regionalization.

"We need to think through this important crisis that is developing. And I don't use that word lightly," Formica said Tuesday at a "stakeholders" meeting of local officials and legislators at Camp Rell in Niantic. "We are all stakeholders in this. We need to think differently, act differently, and we need to work together or our businesses will suffer."

The regional plan calls for the construction of an $11 million bidirectional water-main connection between New London and East Lyme and a $5 million intake pumping station at the Lake Konomoc distribution reservoir.

"We know we aren't going to get commitment for funding today. But we are looking for communities to put this as a priority," Formica told the crowd of about 75 people gathered inside Nett Hall.

If the water main is constructed, East Lyme would send up to 100,000 gallons of its excess water to New London in the fall, winter and spring. East Lyme would be able to draw water back when it needs it the most in the summertime.

Formica's goal is to get the project under way by next spring. New London and East Lyme first must sign an agreement to formalize the project, then begin to put together funding. With $300,000 in federal monies and commitments from other agencies, Formica said they have about 40 percent of the project's costs accounted for.

"New London is prepared to walk the walk," said Barry Weiner, chairman of the New London Water & Water Pollution Control Authority. "In the end, this project will be a win-win for both of our communities."

In a 2003 report, the Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority (SCWA) forecast that the region would begin experiencing a water deficit by 2010, a prediction that has proven to be accurate. In 2004, the group predicted by 2040 the region will suffer from a water-supply deficit of 10 million gallons per day.

Jim Fogarty, the chairman of the SCWA and a selectman in Salem, praised Formica's plan as a creative approach to not only address East Lyme's seasonal water shortage but to develop a more robust and connected water supply in southeastern Connecticut.

Top officials from several other towns expressed enthusiasm for regionalization and talked of getting onboard with similar projects in their towns.

"Now we're really getting serious in terms of regionalization," North Stonington First Selectman Nicholas Mullane II said. "I think other projects can be developed like this one."

"I think all the pieces are starting to come together," added Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon.

The prototype for the East Lyme-New London Interconnection Project is the Thames Basin Regional Water Interconnection Project completed in 2004 that allows Montville and other communities west of the Thames River to tap into the City of Groton's abundant water supply.