Water Main Replacements Set for Old Greenwich

Aquarion Water Co. has received permission from the Town of Greenwich to close local roads in Old Greenwich as the utility begins a water main replacement project that will cause detours in the area for seven months.

Before the Board of Selectmen approved the road closures and traffic detour plans for Shore Road and Sound Beach Avenue, Selectman Drew Marzullo questioned whether the water line replacement and installation of additional fire hydrants in the neighborhoods were in response to the devastating Binney Lane fire which destroyed three homes during the height of Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 29.

"How much of this is in reaction to the fire…it shouldn’t take that to work on pipes that appear to be that old," Marzullo said at the April 11 selectmen meeting.

In the aftermath of the fire, Greenwich fire officials said there wasn't enough water pressure from hydrants and that they had to rely upon tanker trucks to bring loads of water to help prevent the spread of the fire.

George Logan, Aquarion's director of Engineering and Planning, said, "Currently we have adequate fire flows in that neighborhood…the Shore Road area and Sound Beach, particularly south of the work zone. We’re increasing at request of fire department."

Logan added, "There is adequate fire flow in that area….in terms of the issue of mains in that area and throughout the town, that’s what we do everyday, we improve our distribution system." However, he said that the Greenwich Fire Department had requested the water mains and distribution lines be updated and enlarged.

He said the extent of destruction on Binney Lane was not the result of the water supply but rather the hurricane force winds, which fire officials said created a firestorm in the neighborhood.

First Selectman Peter Tesei countered, "It is the perception…people’s view that the fire would have been alleviated if there was access to more water.  The hurricane and storm force winds, it’s irrefutable they contributed" to the devastation.

According to Logan, the installation projects will replace 6- and 8-inch mains in the that date back to the early 1900s in the Shore Road area and 6-inch mains installed in the mid-1940s on Sound Beach Avenue. He estimated that the utility spends about $2 million a year in upgrading its infrastructure in Greenwich. "This year it will be well north of $2.3 million," Logan said. 

Work on Shore Road between Nawthorne Road and Sylvan Lane is scheduled to begin April 29 and end July 15. Roads would be closed 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• For Shore Road west of Sound Beach Avenue: drivers will be detoured via Keoffram and Wanetta to Shore Road or Keoggram Road to Nawthorne Road to Shore Road.
• For Shore Road east of Sound Beach: Tait Road to Benjamin Street to Lincoln Avenue to Sound Beach to Shore Road; Grant Avenue to Clark Street to Sound Beach to Shore Road; Binney Lane to Ford Lane to Shore Road; Sylvan Lane to Binney Lane to Shore Road.

For dead-end streets, residents will be allowed to access their homes, officials said.

The Sound Beach Avenue portion of the project is scheduled to being Sept. 7 and end Dec. 1, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. 

• Traffic headed east of Sound Beach, will be detoured off Sound Beach Avenue onto St. Claire Avenue or Lincoln Avenue, then onto Benjamin Street to Tait Road to Shore Road. The detour also will include access via Clark Street to Grant Avenue to Shore Road.
• Traffic headed west of Sound Beach will be detoured onto Shore Acre Drive or Keoggram Road then onto North to Wahneta Road to Shore Road.

First Selectman Peter Tesei said the town will post maps of the detours on its web site. Greenwich Patch has uploaded the maps and may be seen at right.

Tesei said he was concerned that traffic backups during the summer months caused by visitors headed to Greenwich Point Park would be exacerbated by the work. Aquarion and its contractors are seeking approvals to use the town DPW and water pump station areas on West End Lane for staging of equipment and supplies to minimize the impact, officials said.