News

The Regional Water Authority (RWA) is issuing  its annual water quality report  to customers in south central Connecticut. The Consumers’ Annual Report on Water Quality provides information about the sources of drinking water, shows water quality test results for 2018 and contains other important information about water and health. In addition to consumers receiving a printed copy of the report in the mail, the report is also available on the RWA’s website.

"This annual “report card” details the quality of drinking water provided to RWA consumers during 2018. We are happy to report to our consumers that the RWA’s water continues to meet or is better than all state and federal standards for safe drinking water,” said  Larry Bingaman, RWA President and CEO. “Long before the federal regulation that requires each water utility to provide an annual report on the quality of their drinking water, the RWA was informing its consumers about the quality of their water because we believe it’s their right to know.  We encourage our consumers to read the report so they can learn more about our commitment to provide them with the highest-quality water and how we protect their drinking water sources for generations to come.”

The RWA uses a multi-barrier approach to ensuring water quality. This approach focuses on watershed and aquifer management to protect the quality of drinking water sources, treatment of the water prior to consumption, maintenance of the distribution system that delivers water to the tap and monitoring water quality to ensure compliance.

In 2018, the RWA collected more than 10,000 water samples and conducted over 110,000 tests. The RWA collects water samples before the water is treated, during the treatment process and in the distribution system. Water quality samples are tested at the RWA’s nationally and state-certified laboratory in New Haven, which stands at the front line of the company’s efforts to provide consumers with safe drinking water. The RWA uses advanced technology that can test water samples for minute traces of contaminants and is proud to say its water is of the highest quality.

The RWA sources its waters from 10 active reservoirs and three aquifers. These source waters are located within the 27,000 acres of watershed land that the RWA owns in south central Connecticut. Environmental technicians carefully monitor and manage these lands and all activity that occurs on or around them. This environmental stewardship promotes a healthy ecosystem that helps naturally filter the RWA’s water. As a result, less work needs to be done at the RWA’s treatment plants to further purify the water, allowing the RWA to provide its customers with a high-quality product that is as pure as possible.

Greater New Haven is home to many world-renowned pizzerias, breweries and restaurants. A number of them have reported to the RWA that if the water was not of such a high quality, their businesses would not have opened in this region, or at least would not have been able to produce such world-class products. In this way, the RWA’s sustainable practices are encouraging a healthy, growing economy in the region.