Marc Lemcke is a Westport resident, and a close observer of Aquarion.
Yesterday, he attended a hearing in Hartford on the proposed sale of the water utility. He writes:
You’re driving a bus at 110 miles an hour, when you see a wall in front of you. You cannot stop. Everyone on board knows: This will not end well.
Yesterday’s hearing before the Connecticut Energy and Technology Committee felt like that.
The proposed $2.6 billion sale of Aquarion Water Company to the Regional Water Authority carries enormous risk — and committee members know it.
The “bus driver” is committee co-chair Jonathan Steinberg, Westport’s state representative.
He is probably the least to blame, having warned early about the risks. Yet all eyes are on him, to see whether he can avert what could become a disaster.
The odds are squarely against him. Here’s why.
Hartford’s rushed enabling legislation, passed in an emergency session in 2024, created the state’s largest public agency. It would be financed entirely through $2.6 billion in debt. Not partially. Entirely.
Aquarion reported net income of just $33 million in 2023, according to the Connecticut Mirror. That’s the math.
The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) rejected the deal.
However, the Superior Court found that PURA misapplied the statute — essentially ruling that the regulator must operate within the legislature’s framework, not independently of it.
Next week, PURA — with newly appointed commissioners — will issue a revised draft decision and may approve the deal, pointing to the 2024 enabling legislation.
To be clear: at a lower price, this deal could offer many advantages for Westport ratepayers. RWA has strong water quality, is innovative, and serves customers rather than investors.
Meanwhile, the town focuses heavily on Aquarion’s property tax payments — which we fund through our water bills, and which will decline over time under public ownership.
The sale of Aquarion is a textbook example of what journalist Dan Davies calls an “accountability sink” — a situation in which responsibility is diffused across complex systems, making it nearly impossible to determine who is accountable when Aquarion is in trouble.
Much now rests with Representative Steinberg. At the end of a long legislative career, he finds himself again at the center of Connecticut’s utility universe — driving a bus carrying more than 200,000 passengers.
We can only wish ourselves luck — and start preparing for much higher water bills, while considering more water-friendly gardens. That may not be entirely bad.
(“06880” Opinion pages are open to all. Submissions may be sent to 06880blog@gmail.com.)
Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority continues to hear testimony about Aquarion’s construction of 2 large water tanks on North Avenue, opposite Staples High School. They replaced 1 smaller one on the same site.
Marc Lemcke has fought the water company since the tanks were first proposed in 2017. On Thursday, he testified before PURA, on behalf of Smart Water Westport and a group of neighbors.
Lemcke described his group’s investigation into Aquarion’s actions. His 4 main points:
The Westport tanks were not needed, and Aquarion knew it.
The tanks are part of a $200 million project that was not needed. and Aquarion knew it.
The tanks are larger than authorized.
Aquarion tried to conceal certain facts.
Specifically, Lemcke said, Aquarion blocked the disclosure of public records; hid payments to their Westport town lawyer’s firm, which had a conflict of interest; concealed information about contamination; knew that tank screening was not possible; engaged in illegal marketing; failed to provide “critically important” reports; violated terms of length of construction, and built the tanks without a wetland permit.
The water utility’s “questionable conduct … has critical implications for future water management, and makes the case for even greater oversight going forward,” Lemcke told PURA.
A hearing on Tuesday (June 4, 10 a.m., Zoom) will be held, covering Aquarion’s permit conditions.
Click here for the full 53-page report of Lemcke’s testimony; then click “Attached correspondence” at the bottom.
Aquarion water tanks under construction, June 2022.
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The Levitt Pavilion’s 50th season features over 50 free shows. And they started yesterday.
Tonight (Saturday) at 7:30, Boston-based Couch entertains with pop, funk, rock, R&B and soul. Click here for more information, and to reserve free tickets.
Tomorrow (Sunday, 7 p.m.), the Arun Ramamurthy Trio fuses South Indian classical Carnatic music and contemporary jazz. Click here for more information, and to reserve free tickets.
For all free shows, all available and returned tickets are distributed at the box office, first-come, first-served, beginning 2 hours before show time.
And for all free shows, audience members are free to bring in outside food and drink.
For a highlight reel of last weekend’s ticketed opening — with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Andy Frasco & The United Nations, and Dogs in a Pile, click below.
The rules are the same as past challenges, this year with a fresh round of 25 categories(click here to see). You can do all or only one, or anything in between. Just have fun!
Once you read a book that fulfills a category, submit it via the form on the Library. Then track your progress on our leaderboard.
The leaderboard is also where you can see what everyone else is reading, and give your own recommendations. You can also join the Westport Reading Challenge Facebook Group, and talk smack — er, books — all summer long.
As for kids: Starting today, children can sign up for the Library’s Summer Reading Program. It wraps up September 2.
Youngsters can read anything. Any time. And anywhere, all summer long.
Register online and keep track of minutes read. For every 100 minutes, you can decorate a summer sun that will be displayed in the Library.
Earn a treat from Shake Shack at 500 minutes. When you reach 1,000 minutes, can choose a book to keep from the Library’s selection of titles.
For more summer fun and prizes, stop in the Children’s Library to play bingo and earn more free books.
It’s a memoir about the fallibilities of memory. In 1972 she and her 13-year-old sister were flying unaccompanied back to New York from Israel. Their plane was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and forced to land in the Jordan desert.
Too young to understand the gravity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Martha coped by suppressing her fear. Nearly a half-century later, her memories of those 6 days and nights as a hostage were hazy and scattered. Was it the passage of so much time, or that her family couldn’t endure the full story, or had trauma made her repress the experience? A professional historian, Martha wanted to find out.
Drawing on archival research, childhood memories, and conversations with relatives, friends, and fellow hostages, she re-creates what happened to her. As the hostages forged friendships and provoked conflicts, the sisters learned about the lives and causes of their captors, pondering a deadly divide that continues today.
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Westport Police officers carried the Flame of Hope along the Post Road through town yesterday. The event — from the Norwalk line, to the Southport border — showed support for Special Olympics of Connecticut.
Amy Schneider was one of many drivers and passersby who slowed down and snapped photos, as the torch and flags went past.
Gail Cohen died yesterday, surrounded by her family.
Her family says, “she was passionate about her family, the theater and canasta. She battled her terrible disease valiantly and courageously for 9 months.
“Throughout her life she inspired those around her with her passion, empathy, zest for life, and devotion to the happiness of others. Gail always led with love. She was a force and advocate for those who couldn’t advocate for themselves.”
She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Eric; children Hayley, Zach and Sydney, grandson Cooper, mother Mimi and siblings Richard, Beth Steinberg Michael and Robin.
A memorial service will be held tomorrow (Sunday, June 2, 1 p.m., The Community Synagogue of Westport). Shiva will be at 32 Burnham Hill tomorrow from immediately after the burial until 8 p.m., and Monday, June (1 to 4 p.m., and 6 to 9 p.m.).
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Cohen Family Scholarship Fund at Cardozo Law School/Yeshiva University, or a charity of your choice.
And finally … in light of the many headlines over the past 2 days:
(Sure, it’s the weekend. But “06880” never rests. Our Roundup continues, 24/7/365. If you enjoy our ceaseless work, please click here support us. Thank you!)
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