Ida undermines Aquarion pipeline project in Stamford, Greenwich
For the better part of the last two years, Maureen Blum has lived with the mess.
When Aquarion Water Company started replacing the pipeline on her street in Stamford in May 2020, she said trucks started driving up and down her road most days. She claims that construction-related garbage started popping up on the side of the road, and that roadside signs started looking weathered.
"Our beautiful Farms Road area has become a disaster area," she said.
That project — dedicated to replacing an existing 20-inch raw water pipeline between part of Stamford and Greenwich — was slated to wrap up after six
months of construction and engineering efforts on the border between the two towns. Instead, the initiative has dragged on until now, and during the final stretch of construction, Tropical Storm Ida added an additional wrinkle to the renovation.
Floodwater from a stream running near Farms Road spilled over the culvert that funnels water under the street during Ida’s descent onto lower Fairfield County, washing out dirt and pavement from the road and causing temporary closures nearby.
In Blum’s eyes, a situation that had already grated on her nerves for almost the entire pandemic became even more aggravating.
“If all of this was done in proper time,” she said, “And the sub-road surface was properly put back, and the road was milled and (asphalted) properly, we wouldn't have a road that was washed out.”
Aquarion spokesman Peter Fazekas claims that the end is near.
Even though the tempest further damaged the pavement and caused extensive flooding, the utility company only “lost a few days (of work) because of the storm.”
Aquarion still expects to complete the pipeline project in Stamford “by the end of the month,” he said.
While Fazekas maintained that little work remained on the pipeline on Aquarion’s end, he acknowledges that further delays could stem from road maintenance work necessary after the storm. The city has barricaded off a portion of Farms Road because of the damage from Ida.
To fix the road, city engineer Lou Casolo told The Stamford Advocate that Stamford must retain an engineering company to spearhead reconstruction efforts.
“Once design documents and permitting has been completed and approved and project funding has been obtained, contractors will be retained,” Casolo said.
Once finished, the pipeline will span “approximately 7,800 feet in length” between Bargh Reservoir Dam in Stamford and the Rockwood Lake watershed in Greenwich. The utility company has installed just under 7,000 feet of pipe so far, though significant parts of the project in both towns must still undergo water pressure tests, he said.