DOT Reverse’s Stance on Water Fountains

East Lyme resident Anne Wernau has shown that one person can make a difference.

Her recent letter to Governor Dannel Malloy opposed a plan to eliminate water fountains at the state’s renovated highway service plazas along , . 

Plazas in and North Haven have reopened while those in Plainfield, Fairfield, Darien, and Branford North are under construction.  

The Montville plaza will close this fall for remodeling along with Greenwich and Branford South. 

The remaining eight plazas are slated to close for renovations in 2013. 

DOT officials claimed that fountains were eliminated from plans to maximize space for restaurants and retail. 

They suggested that customers could fill up bottles with water from the restroom sinks. 

DOT Director of Communications Judd Everhart told that food outlets would be required to provide complimentary ice water to whomever asks.

However, water fountains are common in rest stops across the country and are considered a “basic traveler service” in the Connecticut Statewide Rest Area and Service Plaza Study. 

“Honestly, my letter was ‘short and sweet’ but pointed,” Wernau said, “I expressed my outrage, sadness, and disappointment with such a poorly thought-out decision. I also indicated that such a decision was disrespectful to the people of Connecticut as well as our guests. I know that one letter reflects the unspoken voices of 500 people. I am guessing that mine was not the only letter they received, but it must have helped. I do believe DOT will follow up on their commitment.” 

These concerned citizens certainly took the DOT off-guard. 

“None of us envisioned the reaction of the public to this decision,” stated Daniel J. Smachetti, Director of Property and Facilities Services for the DOT Bureau of Finance and Administration in a letter to Wernau. 

Defending the original decision, Smachetti explained that plaza operator Project Service LLC was concerned about public health as “studies have shown that drinking fountains can be a significant source of germs.” 

The decision was not made to “maximize the sale of bottled water” as some have claimed. 

The letter states that “after much consideration” drinking fountains will be installed in the larger service plazas on I-95 while the two smaller I-95 plazas and those on Route 15 and I-395 will feature self-service soda stations. 

“Courtesy cups will be placed at these stations, along with signage, that clearly informs patrons that the cups are available for water from the soda station,” Smachetti explained.

Water fountains will continue to greet visitors at the state’s rest areas, including regional ones on I-95 in Westbrook and North Stonington.

Smachetti told Wernau in the letter that “it is only through citizens such as yourself taking the time to write that we can understand how something that we truly felt was in the public’s best interest was being received so differently.”