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MDC URGES CUSTOMERS TO APPLY TO STATE WATER BILL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Funds available to eligible households in MDC towns
May 10, 2022
For Immediate Release
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(HARTFORD, CT) – The Metropolitan District (MDC) is urging customers with overdue and unpaid balances on their water bills to apply for financial relief via the Connecticut Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). LIHWAP is a one-time water assistance grant program available to eligible households and is being administered by the State Department of Social Services (DSS) and several community action agency partners. The regional partner for the MDC is the Community Renewal Team, Inc. (CRT) Hartford area office. According to DSS, applications for the program will be accepted through June 30, 2022.

Information on the LIHWAP program, how to apply and eligibility is available on the DSS website:
https://portal.ct.gov/DSS/Highlights/Low-Income-Household-Water-Assistance-Program-Coming-to-CT

MDC customers can also contact the Community Renewal Team (CRT) directly at (860) 560-5600 or at crtct.org/ for questions about the program.

“We want customers facing financial hardships to be aware that there are assistance programs available to them,” said Scott Jellison, MDC CEO. The most important step for customers with a past due bill balance is to sign up for a payment plan with the MDC. Payment plans have been available to our customers even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The LIHWAP program gives our customers yet another resource.”

Financial assistance is available for customers in the MDC towns of Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor, Glastonbury, South Windsor, Farmington and East Granby.

In addition, MDC customers can also contact our partners at Operation Fuel to determine eligibility for water bill assistance at www.operationfuel.org/gethelp to locate an Operation Fuel bank nearby in the Online Fuel Bank Finder or call 211 to find a fuel bank near you.

The Connecticut Department of Social Services, along with their community action agency partners, is accepting applications through June 30 for the state’s first Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program.

Get help paying your water bills. Households with annual income at or below 60 percent of the state median income can qualify for this one-time water assistance benefit. There is no asset limit. Help is available for both drinking water and wastewater bills. If you receive benefits from the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, SNAP, TFA, SSI, State Supplement, or Refugee Cash, then you likely meet income requirements.

See the following links for information on the program.
Program Overview
How to Apply
Informational Flyer

MDC customers with questions about applications and eligibility should contact:

Community Renewal Team, Inc. (CRT)
Hartford Area (860) 560-5600
www.crtct.org

Season Passes for boating at Lake McDonough can now be purchased online at https://mdcrecreational.square.site/
You must also complete an online Registration Form when you purchase a season pass at: https://mdcrecreational.square.site/forms-and-agreements

Please note that single day passes must still be purchased on site at Lake McDonough.

For information on the rules and regulations of boating and fishing at Lake McDonough, please see webpage.

2022 Boat Launch Hours:
Saturday, April 9: 6AM – 8PM (OPENING DAY)
Sunday, April 10: 10AM-8PM.
Weekends only for remainder of April: 10:00AM – 8PM
Daily: 10AM – 8PM (May 2 – September 5)
Please check banner at the top of the MDC website and MDC Facebook or Twitter for weather-related closings and openings of Lake McDonough.

Press Release with Schedule
HazWaste Information Packet 2022
HazWaste Information Page

MDC ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION PROGRAM
2022 schedule with participating town information

April 7, 2022
For Immediate Release
(HARTFORD, CT) – Each year, the Metropolitan District (MDC) provides its customers with an environmentally-friendly initiative, the Household Hazardous Waste Collection (HazWaste) program. The 2022 HazWaste Program is scheduled to begin Saturday, April 30.

The MDC collects hazardous waste and disposes of it through safe, environmentally responsible practices which in turn protects the health of our communities and the environment. The MDC will hold ten collection dates in 2022 and residents of any participating towns can partake in any collection date.

Participating towns for 2022 include: Bloomfield, East Granby, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor and Windsor Locks. See schedule for dates, times and locations.

For more information about the HazWaste program, including a downloadable information packet that lists eligibility requirements, types of materials accepted and more, visit https://themdc.org/what-we-do/environment-health-safety/household-hazardous-waste-collection or call the HazWaste hotline at (860) 278-3809.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuY-3RCW1Aw

Hydrant Flushing Information page

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MDC ANNUAL WATERSHED INSPECTIONS BEGIN

Property inspections to begin in the towns of Barkhamsted, Hartland, New Hartford, Burlington, Harwinton, Torrington, Winsted, Avon, Simsbury, Bloomfield and West Hartford

March 9, 2022

For Immediate Release

(HARTFORD, CT) – The Metropolitan District (MDC) will be conducting its state-mandated annual watershed sanitary survey and inspection program beginning in April. The purpose of the program, which will continue through November, is to prevent contamination of the MDC’s drinking water supplies as a result of septic system failure, erosion, runoff, and other potential pollutants.

Routine watershed sanitary surveys are required by Section 19-13-B102 (b) of the Connecticut Public Health Code.

Property inspections will take place in the towns of Barkhamsted and Hartland on the Barkhamsted Reservoir watershed; in New Hartford, Burlington, Harwinton, Torrington and Winsted on the Nepaug Reservoir watershed; and in the towns of Avon, Simsbury, Bloomfield and West Hartford on the West Hartford and Reservoir No. 6 watersheds.

The Barkhamsted Reservoir is located in Connecticut but the watershed area that drains to the Reservoir includes lands located within the Towns of Granville and Tolland, Massachusetts. As a result, property inspections also take place in the towns of Tolland and Granville.

Routine field inspections take only a few minutes and will be conducted by MDC’s Watershed Inspector who carries appropriate MDC identification and drives an authorized MDC vehicle. The Inspector does not enter homes; the inspection is limited to the exterior portions of the real property.

If a violation or an issue is detected, it is reported to the property owner and health officials as required by law.

Property owners may receive more information by contacting the MDC Watershed Management Unit, Barkhamsted Water Supply Division at 860-278-7850 extension 3924.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe8qE17k9eY

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YouTube Playlist Link to Previous Tunnel Construction Videos

MDC TUNNEL PROJECT HITS MAJOR MILESTONE
Tunnel Boring Machine holes through after four-mile journey
January 6, 2022
For Immediate Release

(HARTFORD, CT) – The Metropolitan District (MDC) announced that the South Hartford Conveyance and Storage Tunnel (SHCST) reached a major milestone on Tuesday, January 4 when the tunnel boring machine (TBM) “Iris” reached its destination at the MDC’s retrieval facility located on Talcott Road in West Hartford.  The TBM began its’ journey in the Spring of 2019 across the street from MDC’s Hartford Water Pollution Control Facility (HWPCF) on Brainard Road in Hartford and traveled four miles, 200 feet below the surface before holing through the retrieval shaft on Talcott Road on Tuesday.

The SHCST is a four-mile long deep rock tunnel designed to temporarily store excess combined wastewater and storm water during rain events, and then convey the flows to the HWPCF for treatment. The tunnel’s capacity of 41.5 million gallons will help prevent the HWPCF from being overwhelmed during storms.  The 18-foot diameter tunnel is built in bedrock approximately 200 feet below ground.  The tunnel is a major component of the MDC’s Clean Water Project, an over $2 billion wastewater system improvement program required by the US EPA and State of CT DEEP.

The project is the first of its kind in Connecticut and the tunnel construction portion of the project, which cost approximately $279M, is the largest contract ever awarded by the MDC, and the largest project ever funded by the State Clean Water Fund. The Kenny Obayashi joint venture was awarded the contract to build the tunnel and in addition, the MDC also partnered with AECOM on the engineering design and Jacobs on the construction management of the project.

“The SHCST is a key element of the Clean Water Project with the goal of limiting combined sewer overflows to a one-year storm level, eliminating overflows to the Wethersfield Cove, which will continue to improve local water quality for our towns and ultimately benefitting the entire region including the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound. We are thrilled to have reached this milestone and are grateful to our Board of Commissioners as well as the federal, state and municipal officials from the MDC’s towns for their part in securing critical grant and loan funding to minimize the cost of the project and impact on ratepayers.  We are also thankful to our partners at DEEP for their help executing this project and making funding available,” stated MDC CEO Scott Jellison.

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