2023 WUC Plastic Water Service Replacement and DPW Paving Cooperative Project

The Department of Public Works and Waterford Utility Commission through a cooperative construction project will be replacing plastic water service laterals within the roadway and then resurfacing the road on several roads in 2023. Not all connections on the roads scheduled to be resurfaced need to be replaced.

A water service lateral is the pipe that provides water from the water main located within the roadway to the valve box located at your property line to which your private water line connects. This pipe is typically a l" diameter copper or plastic tubing. The Utility Commission crew will be in the impacted areas shortly to verify the water service lateral material; this will entail excavating a small hole at the property line approximately 4' deep. This hole will be immediately backfilled. Upon investigation, if the water service pipe is determined to be plastic, it will be replaced with copper tubing at a later date prior to roadway resurfacing. 

The water service lateral replacement process will be conducted by our water service provider, The City of New London Department of Public Utilities/ Veolia Water. You will be notified if the water service lateral that serves your property requires replacement. During the water service lateral replacement process there will be a short period of time in which your water service will be temporarily disconnected for a few hours. Please be advised that private property is not allowed within the Town's Right of Way, such as lawn irrigation systems, subsurface dog fences and other items. We will do our best to limit disturbances, however, we cannot be liable for damage to unauthorized installations with the Town's Right of Way. After the water service lateral is replaced a temporary asphalt patch will be installed. Please keep in mind that this is only a temporary patch. 

There is no direct costs for replacing the water service lateral, as this is a Town Capital Improvement funded project.

The Department of Public Works will maintain the temporary asphalt patches until a paving contractor, hired by the Department of Public Works performs the roadway resurfacing. Due to contractor availability and as previously indicated, the time between the completion of the utility work and the start of resurfacing may be several weeks or more. The Department will attempt to minimize this pause in the work. 

The roadwork resurfacing process consists of removing several inches of the old asphalt using a process called milling. It will leave a hard but rough surface until the paving company can arive and resurface the road. Pavement markings, if any (line striping) will be completed during the nighttime hours after all the paving has been completed, usually within 30 days. 

Please use caution while driving in this area. Alternate routes are suggested during this period. There may be alternating one-way traffic while this roadwork is being completed. 

While all efforts will be made to allow for access to your property, please realize that there may be some delays and inconvenience while this work is being performed. 

If you have any questions please contact our Public Works office at 860-444-5864 or Utility Commission office at 860-444-5886 

Thank you in advance for your patience. Be advised, this work is weather dependent. 

James A. Bartelli, Director of Utilities &                                               Gary J. Schneider, Director of Public Works