Montville ― State and local officials say a new connection that will be built by the state Department of Public Health between two town water distribution systems will protect residents in both communities from droughts and other emergencies that could threaten their water supplies.

State Senators Martha Marx, D-New London, and Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, announced in a release last week that the project is being funded by a $556,000 federal grant awarded to the DPH by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of the grant is to support drinking water systems in underserved or small communities.

The project will involve installing a new emergency waterline between two existing mains in the area of Old Colchester Road, Leisure Drive and Hunter’s Run. In that area, the boundaries of two water distribution systems ― Montville and Seven Oaks ― converge. Both are owned by the Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority.

A pump station will be used to add pressure to the system, the release said, and allow the Seven Oaks system to supply the Montville one with water in periods of heavy summer use and drought.

According to a project map from the health department, the pump station will be built off OId Colchester Road across from the Seven Oaks Active Adult Community on Leisure Drive.

Osten said it could be years before the project is finished.

Last week, Osten said the project will “protect drinking water” for residents served by both systems by allowing one system to share with the other in the event that water levels suddenly got low for a variety of reasons, such as drought.

Marx, in a statement, said that over the last decade, the state has seen multiple periods of significant drought.

“While we’re seeing lots of rain now, we know that can change quickly with the forecasts,” she added. “It’s great to know Montville’s residents will have the resources in place to guarantee them safe drinking water even in the case of emergencies.”

Osten referenced that Sprague, in 2018, began a similar project to build a connection between its distribution system and the one managed by Norwich Public Utilities. She said that project came 10 years after an emergency in which the town had come dangerously close to running out of drinking water. At the time, Osten was the town’s first selectwoman. It had to look for temporary solutions until the connection line was installed in 2019.

Osten said that while Montville has not yet seen an emergency like that, installing the line now will ensure the town will not have a similar problem.

d.drainville@theday.com