Stonington ― The Westerly Water Department will replace lead pipes and a century-old water main on River Road in Pawcatuck after the town agreed to contribute $84,000 toward the project.

Westerly Water will replace the pipes and upgrade a 100-year-old 6-inch water main on River Road between Mary Hall Road and Mark Street when the developer of an approved subdivision on Mary Hall Road digs up the road. It will then mill and repave the 1,800 feet of road.

As part of the $350,000 project, Westerly Water will replace 27 aging lateral water lines running between the water main and the individual shut off valves on private property, 12 of which are lead pipes, at a cost of $7,000 each.

On Wednesday, First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough requested funding for the project from the Board of Finance but the board said it had limited funding to allocate for the project.

Some board members were flatly opposed to a town contribution, and most were unwilling to use two possible funding options: money from the town’s undesignated fund balance or American Rescue Plan funds designated for the delayed Fourth District Voting Hall project.

Most of the board was willing to consider funding the project by transferring money from other parts of the budget but those transfers cannot be voted on until January under state law.

Westerly Town Manager Shawn Lacey said he needed to take something solid to his Town Council to get approval for the project.

Westerly Water Director Massimo Sposato explained that without the $84,000 from Stonington, the water company would not pursue the upgrade or replace the lateral lines, including the lead pipes, as it is not required to do so by the Rhode Island Department of Public Health.

Because the Board of Finance would not approve immediate funding, Chesebrough said the town could give Westerly $84,000 for road paving instead of paying for the lead pipe replacement. This allowed the town to use money from the Department of Public Works paving budget.

Public Works Director Jeff Pescosolido said there was enough money in the paving budget to cover the $84,000, though some smaller projects may have to be postponed.

Board member Lynn Young opposed any town contribution to the project, citing concerns of setting a precedent for future requests from the utility and that the proposal was not fair to taxpayers with other sources of water.

She questioned why any taxpayer who will not benefit from the project should pay for what is, essentially, a rate payer and fire district issue.

She said that taxpayers who get their water from Aquarion Water Co. pay significantly higher rates than Westerly Water customers do, and that the request essentially asked Aquarion customers to pay to subsidize a project that benefits customers of another water company.

Lacey noted that the same question applied to Westerly residents whose taxes will subsidize the Pawcatuck project.

Finance board member Bob Statchen said he was inclined to support the project including funding using the undesignated fund due to the public safety, public health and infrastructure issues it would address, and he recognized that if addressed separately, the costs would be substantially higher.

Sposato explained that upgrading the water main from a 6-inch pipe to 12 inches rather than the required 8 inches will improve water flow and quality, as well as improve public safety by increasing water availability and pressure at hydrants. The upgrade would also decrease the risk of water main breaks by replacing the aging pipe.

Pescosolido said the town would realize cost savings because milling and repaving the road now will give it a 15 to 20-year lifespan. He said River Road was repaired three years ago and is already deteriorating and will need to be repaired in the next five to seven years.

The subdivision developer is required to pay to upgrade the water main to an 8-inch pipe and repave half the road, but the water company will pay the difference to upgrade the main to a 12-inch pipe, replace the laterals and pay to mill and repave the other half of the road.

The project is anticipated to begin in October.