Town Lends Space to Aquarion during Water Main Work

Aquarion is keeping some pipes and materials in an inconspicuous section of Irwin Park as part of a 3-month project that’s designed to boost fire protection in New Canaan.

The size of water mains running underground must increase to change water pressure for firefighters in some northwestern areas of New Canaan, officials say. When Aquarion performs that type of work, a portion of the road restoration costs are covered—in exchange the town gives them areas to store materials, officials say.

Since there aren’t a lot of “laydown areas” on the side of the road in areas such as Weed Street or West and Sunset Hill Roads, it makes sense to give Aquarion an area in Irwin, New Canaan’s assistant director of public works and senior engineer, Tiger Mann, told the Park Commission at that group’s most recent meeting.

Mann and the commission settled on a walled-in courtyard located between the barn at Irwin Park and the gravel parking lot (immediately inside the Weed Street entrance and on the right).

Since it’s already walled in, simple additional construction fencing in those areas where there are gaps should deter passersby and especially children from entering the area, Mann told Patch in an interview.

“It’s also a good area to store materials because it doesn’t detract from the park,” Mann said.

Work was scheduled to start March 18 and would continue into mid- to late-June.