News

A water fountain for our four-legged canine friends was dedicated this weekend at the Union Street Dog Park in New Haven.  The South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (RWA) partnered with the Friends of Wooster Square Parks (FOWS) to add a doggie drinking fountain to the Union Street Dog Park, a formerly derelict space which is now an oasis for neighborhood residents and their pet partners.

The RWA’s support of this community project was made possible through the advocacy and efforts of community volunteers, and spearheaded by downtown’s Alderman Doug Hausladen, who helped to bring this valuable community resource to the attention of the water utility. After meeting with Hausladen and community organizers, Jean Dyer, RWA’s Vice President of Service & Technology, and Dave Johnson, Contracts and New Services Manager, agreed that Union Street Dog Park offers an important service to the growing downtown community of dog-owners, and committed the resources of RWA’s technical departments to seeing the project through.

Larry Bingaman, President and CEO of the Regional Water Authority said, “Providing quality water to the homes and businesses that depend on us every day as well as supplying water to fight fires is both a privilege and a responsibility. But our mission does not end there. As a corporate citizen, the RWA recognizes its responsibility to respond to the needs of communities in our district by collaborating with other not-for-profit organizations in the region. This collaboration is intended to enhance the quality of life for our constituents in New Haven.”

RWA has a history of offering support to other community groups. In the past three years, they have donated water services to eight community gardens in New Haven. These gardens allow residents of some of New Haven’s least affluent communities to grow food that will further efforts to help them have healthy lifestyles.

The South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority is a non-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the state.  Within the 20 member towns of its water district, the RWA owns and operates a public drinking water system which includes 18 reservoirs, four surface water treatment plants and seven groundwater treatment plants. It serves over 425,000 water consumers approximately 48 million gallons of water per day and provides fire protection throughout its service area.  The source of this water is a system of watershed and aquifer areas that cover about 120 square miles within 24 municipalities.