2020 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 25 - Water Resources. Flood and Erosion Control
Chapter 474 - Pollution
Section 25-33 - Water company: Reporting and record retention requirements. Plan required for construction or expansion of water supply system or a proposed new source of water supply. Regulations. Approval of location of replacement public well.

(a) On or before January first, annually, each water company shall file with the Department of Public Health, in such form as the Commissioner of Public Health shall prescribe, a written statement containing the following information: (1) The business name and address of the water company; (2) the name and residence address of the proprietor thereof or, if a partnership, the name and residence address of each partner or, if an association or corporation, the name and residence address of each officer and director; (3) the number and types of its consumers and a description of the area which the company serves; (4) an identification and description of its source of water supply; and (5) such other information as the Commissioner of Public Health may require.

(b) No system of water supply owned or used by a water company shall be constructed or expanded or a new additional source of water supply utilized until the plans therefor have been submitted to and reviewed and approved by the department, except that no such prior review or approval is required for distribution water main installations that are constructed in accordance with sound engineering standards and all applicable laws and regulations. A plan for any proposed new source of water supply submitted to the department pursuant to this subsection shall include documentation that provides for: (1) A brief description of potential effects that the proposed new source of water supply may have on nearby water supply systems including public and private wells; and (2) the water company's ownership or control of the proposed new source of water supply's sanitary radius and minimum setback requirements as specified in the regulations of Connecticut state agencies and that such ownership or control shall continue to be maintained as specified in such regulations. If the department determines, based upon documentation provided, that the water company does not own or control the proposed new source of water supply's sanitary radius or minimum setback requirements as specified in the regulations of Connecticut state agencies, the department shall require the water company proposing a new source of water supply to supply additional documentation to the department that adequately demonstrates the alternative methods that will be utilized to assure the proposed new source of water supply's long-term purity and adequacy. In reviewing any plan for a proposed new source of water supply, the department shall consider the issues specified in this subsection. The Commissioner of Public Health may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to carry out the provisions of this subsection and subsection (c) of this section. For purposes of this subsection and subsection (c) of this section, “distribution water main installations” means installations, extensions, replacements or repairs of public water supply system mains from which water is or will be delivered to one or more service connections and which do not require construction or expansion of pumping stations, storage facilities, treatment facilities or sources of supply. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the department may approve any location of a replacement public well, if such replacement public well is (A) necessary for the water company to maintain and provide to its consumers a safe and adequate water supply, (B) located in an aquifer of adequate water quality determined by historical water quality data from the source of water supply it is replacing, and (C) in a more protected location when compared to the source of water supply it is replacing, as determined by the department. For purposes of this subsection, “replacement public well” means a public well that (i) replaces an existing public well in a town in southeastern Connecticut with a population between fifteen thousand and fifteen thousand three hundred, as enumerated by the 2010, federal decennial census, and (ii) does not meet the sanitary radius and minimum setback requirements as specified in the regulations of Connecticut state agencies.

(c) Each water company shall report to the Department of Public Health, annually in an electronic format prescribed by the department, the number and location of all new distribution water main installations.

(d) Each petition to the General Assembly for authority to develop or introduce any system of public water supply shall be accompanied by a copy of the recommendation and advice of said department thereon.

(e) Each water company shall maintain (1) a list of the names and addresses of its customers, and (2) the results of water purity tests conducted under this chapter. Such list and results shall be retained for a period of three years and be available for inspection and copying by the Department of Public Health and municipal and district health departments, for the purpose of public health investigations.

(1949 Rev., S. 4016; 1967, P.A. 691, S. 4; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 80-157; P.A. 81-358, S. 5; P.A. 85-336, S. 5, 6; P.A. 88-253, S. 1, 2; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 06-98, S. 1; P.A. 08-137, S. 1; P.A. 19-117, S. 74.)

History: 1967 act divided section into Subsecs., made filing of information by water companies mandatory where previously information required only upon health department's request and specified contents of statement to be filed, required submission and approval of company expansion or use of new water supply and added reference to department's advisory role re methods of assuring adequacy of supply; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-157 required submission and approval of abandonment of water source in Subsec. (b); P.A. 81-358 added provision in Subsec. (b) requiring department consideration of a proposed new water supply's effect on nearby supply systems; P.A. 85-336 amended Subsec. (b) by eliminating the requirement that plans for abandonment of a water supply source be filed with the commissioner prior to abandonment; P.A. 88-253 added Subsec. (d) re maintenance and availability of list of names and addresses of water company customers and results of water purity tests; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 06-98 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (b) by exempting certain distribution water main installations from Department of Public Health's review and approval process and defining “distribution water main installations”, added new Subsec. (c) establishing reporting requirements re number and location of new distribution water main installations, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) and (d) as Subsecs. (d) and (e), respectively, and made a technical change in said Subsec. (e); P.A. 08-137 amended Subsec. (b) by restructuring provision re submission of plan for proposed new source of water supply, by specifying required plan content and department's authority to request additional documentation from water company, by permitting commissioner to adopt regulations to carry out provisions of Subsecs. (b) and (c) and by making technical changes; P.A. 19-117 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provisions re department's authority to approve location of replacement public well and definition of “replacement public well”.