Copyright 1999 The Hartford Courant Company
THE
HARTFORD COURANT
April 15, 1999 Thursday, 4 EASTERN
SECTION: MANCHESTER EXTRA; Pg. 01
LENGTH: 573 words
HEADLINE:
RESIDENTS BEGIN TO TRICKLE IN FOR LOCAL BOTTLED WATER
BYLINE: KYM SOPER; Courant Staff Writer
DATELINE: MANCHESTER --
BODY:
Move over Poland Spring -- Silk City bottled water is now available for
free. All that's needed is the bottle.
The new public water station was
opened on the first of the month and already it's had plenty of customers. About
three or five people show up every day drawing 30 to 50 gallons of water, said
Robert Young, administrator of the town water department.
Located
between the Globe Hollow water treatment plant and Mount Nebo park on Spring
Street, the cobalt blue fountain was installed for a number of reasons, Young
said.
"Mostly because bottled water has become a huge thing and people
think it's safe," he said. "We're trying to provide a vehicle to show that our
water is as good as bottled water."
Bottled-water vendors say one of the
chief selling points is taste. Many municipal water supplies are chlorinated
during the treatment process, but bottled-water companies use ozone, a form of
oxygen that leaves no aftertaste, to disinfect their supply.
Many
consumers also worry about compounds called disinfection
byproducts that are created when the chlorine
reacts with organic matter like dead leaves. The federal government has set
maximum levels for these breakdown products because data suggests they can cause
cancer or birth defects.
Like most other towns, Manchester's water
supply is chlorinated to kill harmful bacteria and microbes. Water from the
bottling station goes through the same treatment process as tap water, but the
chlorine is removed as the water passes through a granulated carbon filter on
its way to the fountain. To prevent the regrowth of bacteria, standing water in
the pipe is disinfected with ultraviolet light.
The water is still
fluoridated, but some fluoride is lost because of this extra step, Young said.
"But there's still enough in there for [cavity] prevention."
Besides
taste, nostalgia was another reason for opening the station. Roughly 20 years
ago, Manchester locals bottled their own water from a natural spring on the
south side of town.
"Everybody used it and they used to say what great
water it was," Young said. "But it was contaminated and had to be shut down.
We're kind of giving back to the community that spring, but now it's safer."
The cost of installing and maintaining the fountain is minimal, which is
why there is no charge, Young said. About $2,500 was spent on materials and
"less than one- third of one cent" is spent per gallon on treating the water.
The station will remain open until Oct. 31 daily from 7 a.m. to dusk. A
timer on the fountain automatically turns the water flow on and off so no
midnight water runs may be made.
Young suggests residents use the Mount
Nebo parking lot to reach the fountain. It's located along the chain link fence
separating the treatment plant and park, directly across from the baseball
diamond's right field.
While the station can be reached through a gate
on the treatment plant parking lot side of the fence, it will be locked when the
office closes for the day.
To christen the new watering hole, a
ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on May 8 from 8 a.m. to noon. Squirt water
bottles will be handed out to participants and the public will be able to tour
the water treatment plant to see how town water is sanitized.
"People
take it for granted -- they open the tap and want clean, good tasting water,"
said Young. "They don't think about everything that has to go into that."
LOAD-DATE: April 25, 1999 
