Vandalism at water pump station leads to 'do not drink' advisory in Ledyard
Ledyard — The Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority is advising 871 of its Ledyard customers not to drink the water, a precautionary measure due to the possibility of tampering of one of its wells.
The “no drink advisory,” comes after the discovery Monday of a break-in and vandalism at the authority’s pump station at 17 East Drive in Gales Ferry. The authority is having the water tested for contaminants under advice of the state Department of Public Health.
Connecticut Water Authority General Manager Josh Cansler said there is no evidence water was tampered with but said the testing is being done out of an abundance of caution.
The water supply in that area, served by several different pump stations with wells, has alarms that were not triggered. The water distribution system and equipment shows no signs of tampering, Cansler said.
“We don’t think anything happened. The state has some concerns that maybe someone managed to put something in the water,” he said. “In this day and age, people worry. Police are fairly certain it was a group of kids.”
Ledyard police said the vandals broke into the buildings at the station, spray painted the buildings and took some containers from a storage shed and tossed them into a nearby retention pond. Ledyard Police Chief John Rich said that because of the potentially serious nature of the incident, police detectives were assigned to the investigation.
Tampering with a water system is a federal offense and can be prosecuted as an act of terrorism.
The pump station that was vandalized is the authority’s largest in what is known as the “Tower Division” in Gales Ferry, one of 17 divisions managed by the authority.
Customers in the Tower Division, where water is still available from other pump stations, are additionally being asked to conserve water until that system is back online. Cansler said he expects test results by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Customers on the following streets are asked not to drink the water until tests are completed:
Bluebird Drive, Bobwhite Trail, Christy Hill Road, Conrad Court, Eagle Ridge Drive, East Drive, Friar Tuck Drive, Heritage Drive, Hillside Drive, Holly Lane, Hyde Park Road, Kings Highway, Kennedy Drive, Lincoln Drive, Laurel Leaf Drive, Long Cove Road, Lark Lane, Little John Court, Ledgewood Drive, Maid Marion Drive, Monticello Drive, Mount Vernon Drive, Nottingham Court, Oakwood Drive, Osprey Drive, Partridge Hollow Road, Parkwood Drive, Pequot Drive, Pheasant Run Drive, Queen Eleanor Drive, Quail Meadow Drive, Robin Hood Drive, Ramblewood Drive, Summit Drive, Sherwood Trace, Terry Road, Vinegar Hill Road, Warbler Way, Whippoorwill Drive, West Drive, Washington Drive, and Whalehead Road.
The creation of the water authority is an outgrowth of the drought and growth in the area in the 1960s. The Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority was created in 1967 by the Connecticut General Assembly and “provides many abilities including establishing and implementing long-range programs to meet water supply requirements.”
For further information, visit www.waterauthority.org or call the Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority at (860) 464-0232. Anyone with information on the vandalism is asked to call Ledyard Police at (860) 464-6400.
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