Groton — Groton Utilities held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for the water treatment plant project.

According to a news release, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut President Tony Sheridan introduced the first speaker, GU Director Ron Gaudet, who spoke about the value of the new facility to the local community. State Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani, DPH Environmental Health and Drinking Water Branch Chief Lori Mathieu, Christopher Yannoni of Stantec Engineering, R.H. White Construction CEO Jim McCarthy and Groton City Mayor Keith Hedrick also spoke.

Employees of the Groton Utilities Water Division were involved in the festivities, with Water Operations Manager Ray Valentini and Water Treatment Plant Project Manager Mike Weber officially cutting the ribbon, according to the release. Groton Utilities and city employees attended, along with representatives of the U.S. Navy, Pfizer, Fairview Odd Fellows Home and Riverfront Children’s Center, among other local organizations and companies.

Construction of the facility on Poquonnock Road, which began in late 2017, was completed in March 2022: “This $54 million project was the largest project that has been funded through the State of Connecticut’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program and the first project to receive state grant funds from the DPH’s Public Water System Improvement Program,” according to a news release.

“The new main DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation) building is approximately 20,000 square feet and is where the primary filtration functions occur,” the release continued. “The new filtration plant can process 12 million gallons of water per day. In addition, two new elevated water storage tanks were constructed, both of which can hold up to 1.1 million gallons of water in reserve.”

Groton Utilities provides water to about 45,000 people each day.

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