You asked what recourse a homeowner has when a town pollutes his groundwater.

SUMMARY

A municipality is liable for the pollution it causes. A homeowner who believes a municipality is responsible for polluting his groundwater may ask the town to rectify the problem, inform the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), or sue the town. DEP may order a municipality to stop polluting state waters and, as funds allow, must provide a short-term potable water supply to a homeowner whose water has been made unsafe to drink by pollution. Responsibility for providing drinkable water falls to the party responsible for the pollution, once DEP determines who that is.

DEP ORDER TO ABATE POLLUTION

State law bars any person or municipality from polluting state waters or discharging treated or untreated wastes in violation of the law (CGS § 22a-427). State waters include underground bodies of water and wastes include any substance that may pollute the waters (CGS § 22a-423). (The presence of some substances, such as sodium, can result from either natural or man-made sources. DEP would only get involved in the latter case. )

CGS § 22a-428 authorizes DEP to order a municipality to (1) stop polluting state waters and (2) abate a community pollution problem where such action provides the best solution.

PROVIDING POTABLE WATER

DEP recommends that an affected homeowner send a sample of his well water to a state-certified Department of Public Health laboratory, which will determine if the water is safe to drink. If the water is not potable, either the homeowner or local health director should notify DEP. If the DEP commissioner finds that pollution has made the water unsafe to drink, she must provide the homeowner with a short-term drinking water supply, as state funds allow. (DEP typically does not respond to cases of bacteriological contamination, which are handled by local health departments. ) The department must provide this potable water until either the party responsible for the pollution complies with the commissioner's order to provide short-term potable water, or a long-term supply is found, whichever occurs first. If DEP cannot determine who is responsible for the pollution, DEP may provide or arrange for the provision of a long term supply or may order the town to provide potable water (CGS § 22a-471). More information on DEP's potable water program is available on the DEP website (http: //www. ct. gov/dep/cwp/view. asp?A=2715&Q=324998).

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