Volume 17, Issue 29
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Friday, October 29, 2010
Pumpkins aplenty - just in time for Halloween The Abely family’s annual Pumpkin Carving Party was held at their house in Durham on Saturday, Oct. 23. There were a few kindergartners from John Lyman School in attendance this year with their families: Andrew Abely, Sammie Dugan, Drue Fleck, Alexandra Harris, Noah Ram, Elena Tellez and Tyler Warner. Madison Miller and Dylan Abely, who attend the Middlefield Children’s Center, also had a blast, as well as friends and family, Mia Abely, Ellie Abely and Scarlett Rose Doyle. The kids either painted or carved pumpkins or made candy necklaces. Here the kids pose in front of the finished product. Photos submitted by Stacey Abely
Water concerns highlighted at Durham selectmen’s meeting By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times
the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure their drinking water is clean.
Residents from the Durham Heights and Gas Light Village neighborhoods in Durham, along with an NBC cameraman, showed up at the Board of Selectman meeting on Oct. 25 to discuss some residents’ concerns with water quality. The hour-long dialogue between the selectmen, town planner Geoff Colegrove, town sanitarian Bill Milardo and the residents ultimately boiled down to whether or not it is
Resident Donia Viola does not believe it should be. Viola, who requested the topic be on the agenda, noted that a Middletown Press article in August brought to her attention that 25 years ago bacteria was prevalent in Durham’s Gas Light Village, Viola’s neighborhood, which is adjacent to Durham Heights, and it was being monitored. It occurred to Viola and her husband that “no one ever followed through and monitored our wells.” The Viola’s went ahead and got their wells tested for “our own piece of mind.” The results found coliform, though not fecal coliform. They chlorinated the water, and it is now clean, but “the bottom line is, when there is
In this issue ... Calendar............................4 Durham Briefs................16 Middlefield Briefs...........17 Sports ..........................28-31 Election questions..12-14, 18
a problem, we all have the right to know,” she said. “I don’t want to sound bitter, but I am angry.” According to Milardo, a study was done in 1985 in response to cloudiness found in some wells after a detention pond in the Royal Oak subdivision (which spans Durham and Middletown) was created. The results noted bacteria in some, which put up a red flag. Recommendations were made at the time, and residents were informed that it is their responsibility to make sure their drinking water is clean. He said no other property owners drilled new wells then or since. Milardo noted that in the early ‘90s, the town received a grant for approximately $50,000 to look at alternate water sources at White’s
Farm and to drill three wells in Durham Heights to see if a more modern-constructed well would yield potable water. Of the three wells drilled at private homes, two had potable water, one had bacteria/minerals, and the owner chose to continue using the older well. It was argued by First Selectman Laura Francis, Milardo, Colegrove and a nearby resident that it is up to individuals to upgrade their systems, but Viola disagreed. She stated that it is a disservice that only three wells were tested. She mentioned that residents in Durham Heights have been provided water through the CT Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) program. But according to Milardo, the number of wells producing water with bacte-
ria has decreased over the years so the bottled water has been cut back. He was not certain of how much is provided currently, though Donia said she knows of at least eight homes. The conversation turned toward what could cause a recurrence of bacteria. Milardo said bacteria die off rapidly, and thus the original reason for the 1985 concern for bacteria could not be the reason for the issues today. He also noted that bacteria can be caused by other factors in water systems, and not just in the well. In fact, if Durham homes were randomly tested for bacteria, at least five to 10 percent would have bacteria, but not necessarily in the well, he said. See BOS, page 17