FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 11, 2001

CONTACT:	Matt Nozzolio, MDC 1-860-340-4365 1-860-278-7850 x3209 During Business Hours
	Dan Meaney, Connecticut Water Company 1-860-340-3853 1-800-428-3985 x3016 During Business Hours

Shortly after 9 AM this morning, The Metropolitan District put the Nepaug Reservoir and Collinsville Water Treatment process back on-line. These steps were taken after the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) concluded that all water quality tests conducted on samples taken from the reservoir and the treatment plant were normal and meet all state and federal requirements for drinking water.

The Reservoir and treatment plant had been taken off-line early yesterday morning as a precaution when the carcass of a 100-pound pit bull dog was found in the reservoir. Autopsy results performed at the University of Connecticut have since determined that the dog died from drowning. It is not uncommon for an animal or other wildlife to enter a surface water supply and treatment technologies in place at the treatment plant provide a multi-barrier system designed to handle biological contaminants associated with an animal in the water body.

The Collinsville Treatment Facility treats water from the Nepaug Reservoir and serves approximately 1300 customers of the Connecticut Water Company in the towns of Canton, Avon and Burlington.

While the treatment plant was off-line, Connecticut Water was able to maintain fire protection and water service to its customers by drawing water from its Huckleberry Hill Storage tank and through a temporary interconnection with the Avon Water Company. Now that the treatment plant is back on-line, the temporary connection with Avon was has been discontinued and the water system is returning to normal operation. However, some customers may continue to notice discolored water through the rest of the day because of the changes in system operation. Customers may feel confident in the quality of the water being delivered in the system.

The MDC’s Barkhamsted Reservoir and West Hartford and Reservoir 6 Water Treatment Facilities remained online and were unaffected by the closure of Nepaug Reservoir. Customers in the 13 towns served by the MDC were not affected.

Connecticut Water and the MDC appreciate the cooperation of the Avon Water Company, the police and fire departments, local homeowners, and others involved for their assistance with this incident.

Connecticut Water customers should call the Company at 1-800-286-5700 if they have specific questions.

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