A proposal from the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority to put a 2 million gallon concrete storage tank on land off Derby’s Mountain Street is raising some eyebrows, according to elected officials.
The proposal, first mentioned informally by officials from the authority in November, was officially proposed last month.
Plans on file at City Hall call for a 10,613-square-foot “water tank and valve chamber” on the 2.71-acre parcel, which is located beyond the west end of Mountain Street (known locally as “Telescope Mountain”).
The company says the storage tank is needed to maintain water pressure in the area during peak flows and any possible emergency situations. But some officials, including Mayor Anthony Staffieri, said the land in question isn’t a good place for the tank.
The city’s planning and zoning commission will host a public hearing on the proposal Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. in Aldermanic Chambers, Dave Kopjanski, the city’s building official, said Wednesday.
Copies of the plans are available for public inspection in the building department in Derby City Hall at 1 Elizabeth St.
“Presently the Ansonia-Derby distribution system does not have any storage to the west of the Naugatuck River,” the application says.
The land is currently owned by a Shelton-based Summit Hill LLC, but the water authority has entered into an option agreement to buy the land, the proposal says.
Summit Hill LLC has the same Shelton address as the John J. Brennan Construction Company.
The listed principal of the LLC, according to the Secretary of the State’s office, is David Brennan, who is listed on the construction company’s website as its secretary-treasurer. The company’s portfolio of clients includes the Regional Water Authority, according to the website.
The authority estimated construction would take place from this summer to spring 2014.
In addition to the tank, the proposal calls for a 1,360-foot access driveway to the property from the north end of Summit Street.
A 1,340-foot 16-inch water main would run from the property along Fall Street, Emmett Street, and Eleventh Street — heavily populated areas.
Mayor Anthony Staffieri said Wednesday that he’s been hearing from neighboring property owners who are “very upset” about the tank proposal.
Staffieri said a better spot for the tank would be on land the water authority already has a facility, off Silver Hill Road.
“I just can’t for the life of my understand why they would want to go into that location,” Staffieri said.
A spokesman for the Regional Water Authority said the property off Mountain Road was their best option, and that putting the tank where they already have one would be redundant.
The spokesman, Tom Chaplik, said that a water main break several weeks ago in Derby resulted in low pressure throughout the area, including at Griffin Hospital.
The tank off Silver Hill road “lessened the impact,” Chaplik said, but with the new tank in place, “the impact on residents would be much less than was experienced.”
“Ideally you’d like to put the tank where nobody lives, but the challenge is, where people live is where we need to have the water,” Chaplik said. “It really had to be on the west side of the Naugatuck River. That’s just the way our water system is set up.”
The spokesman said the company looked at properties throughout the area before deciding on the parcel off Mountain Street.
“My understanding is this was the best site and the seller is willing, so it’s a good match,” he said.
He said the company understands neighbors have concerns and said they would be addressed.
“Through the planning and zoning process, we’ll be working with that agency to minimize the impacts as best we can,” Chaplik said.
Alderman Ron Sill said he’s also been hearing concerns from neighboring property owners.
Sill cited the fact that the water authority’s proposal called for 13,000 yards of cubic earth and rock to be excavated during the construction, and questioned whether there would be blasting associated with the work, too.
Chaplik said he didn’t know whether blasting would be necessary, and that the company’s intent “is to try to use as much rock on site as possible.” The company has applied to P&Z for a rock crushing permit “only during construction,” he said.
The proposal is obviously out of the purview of the Board of Aldermen, Sill said, but he’s been telling residents from the area they should take their concerns to the planning and zoning meeting on Jan. 15.
“They have very genuine concerns. This is going to be a 2 million gallon water tank,” Sill said. “(The water authority) may be within their rights, I have no idea, but one way to find out is attend these meetings and ask all these questions.”