Water Safety

HIGH-OCCUPANCY DEVELOPMENT ON THE HALD PROPERTY AT DUCK HOLE AND NEW ROAD
COULD NEGATIVELY AFFECT THE QUALITY, SUPPLY AND SAFETY OF MADISON’S WATER

Madison Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has received an application from Present Moment, LLC (the same developer that submitted the defeated HEDS amendment) for a zone change on the 11+ acres of the Hald property at the junction of Duck Hole and New Road.  The zone change requests the lot be changed from RU-2 (residential minimum 2-acre lots) to a High-Occupancy Development (HOD).  The developer has also submitted Phase I plans for a 24 home mixed-income community on the site.  The eventual number of residential units on the property will likely exceed that number. 

The proposed development for mixed-income use falls under the State’s controversial 8-30g statute, which essentially provides a free pass to force-feed condo and high-occupancy development to towns and municipalities that largely bypass local zoning regulations and safeguards to facilitate orderly and progressive growth.  Shamefully, this is done in the name of “affordable housing”.    

Thankfully, the legislation does not deny residents’ rights to safety.  The Hald property is directly over an aquifer that has been designated by the Department of Environmental Protection as one of several of Connecticut’s Aquifer Protection Areas.  An aquifer is a water-bearing layer of rock or sediment capable of yielding supplies of water; typically is unconsolidated deposits or sandstone, limestone or granite.  Aquifer Protection Areas are delineated for active public water supply wells in areas that serve more than 1,000 people, in accordance with Connecticut law.   Madison has four Aquifer Protection Areas.  The Hald property sits atop one of these (see the attached map).  Many public and private wells in Madison draw potable water from groundwater that accumulates in this aquifer.  While there are currently houses with septic systems above these aquifers, most properties within these areas have a single house per one, two or more acres.  The problem lies in establishing dense development and introducing a large-scale septic treatment system for multiple households, as well as affecting normal surface rainwater saturation and runoff at the center of an active and much needed water supply source.  The potential for contamination or other negative consequences is significantly greater with dense development.  The aquifer in question not only provides well water for the sourrounding area, but also is drawn upon by the Connecticut Water Company to provide "city" water to those south of I-95.  Additionally, the particular aquifer that the Hald property resides upon crosses over into parts of Clinton.  Any negative consequences to this important water supply would affect a lot of people. 

On Monday, November 26, 2007 7:30 pm at Town Campus, the Conservation Commission will review the HOD development application.  We urge the Conservation Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission to stop and think about the potentially harmful affect this proposal could have on Madison’s water quality, supply and safety.  The potential adverse affects of tampering with our pristine water supply is not a trivial matter.   Without a safe and ample potable water supply, hundreds if not thousands of homes would be affected.  We need to investigate the true impact of this proposal, before any additional steps are taken.  At a minimum, these Commissions must consider:

As concerned citizens of Madison, we strongly recommend that both the Conservation Commission and Planning and Zoning Commission postpone or deny approval for any application for a zone change on this property until a time that expert testimony (by persons retained by the town, not the developer) can be attained as to the potential negative affects of dense development over one of our town aquifers.