CT GOP Senators Cite “Tsunami” of Water Rate Hikes if “Atrocious” Deal Passes

(Watch the Press Conference here.)

In advance of a Wednesday vote by state utility regulators, Senate Republican lawmakers and a bipartisan group of mayors and community advocates on Tuesday continued to cite multiple concerns surrounding the proposed acquisition of Aquarion Water Company by the Regional Water Authority.

The deal, which Attorney General William Tong has described as “atrocious”, will spike water rates in towns across Connecticut and negatively impact the environment and public health.

The lawmakers, including Sen. Stephen Harding, Sen. Ryan Fazio, Sen. Heather Somers, Sen. Tony Hwang, Sen. Jason Perillo and Sen. Eric Berthel, wrote to the attorney general on Nov. 13 to urge him to file a formal request for an injunction on the sale. View the letter.

“The people of Connecticut deserve better than to have major legislation that impacts their daily lives passed with no public input,” Sen. Harding said. “Think Connecticut is unaffordable now? Hold onto your wallets if this terrible deal goes through. And Gov. Lamont has been silent on it. Why?”

“Already overburdened Connecticut families will face a tsunami of water rate hikes if this deal goes through,” Sen. Somers said. “Public health and the environment will be jeopardized. PURA should vote down this bad deal.”

“The deal stinks,” Sen. Fazio said. “The former CEO of Aquarion has called the situation ‘shameful.’ Literally decades and decades of unaffordable water rate hikes await Connecticut residents if this becomes reality.”

“The lack of transparency, the potential impact on ratepayers and to our towns, and the potential negative impact to our environment are all reasons to vote against this proposed sale,” Sen. Hwang said.

The senators were joined by WestCOG Executive Director Francis Pickering, Metro COG Executive Director Matt Fulda, Former Aquarion CEO Charles Firlotte, Stonington First Selectman-Elect Bill Middleton, and Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti.

The sale of Aquarion Water to the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority was authorized legislatively by Public Act 24-1 of the June 2024 Special Session and signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont. The legislation was passed without a public hearing and without input from customers of both companies.

The Republican senators also noted the following:

1. Approval of this sale would remove Aquarion from oversight of PURA. The new entity would be setting rates themselves, with no oversight. Questions remain on what impact this will have on the rates of both current Aquarion customers and current customers of the Regional Water Authority.
2. In addition to rate impacts, there are also unanswered questions about how municipalities will be impacted and whether they will lose out on property tax payments that Aquarion currently makes. Any loss of revenue would require towns and cities to increase property taxes.
3. There are also questions about the environmental impact that this sale would have. As pointed out recently by several Connecticut watershed organizations and land trusts in the northwest corner of the state, there are concerns that watershed land could be in danger.