A Year Later, Waterbury Mikvah Still Delayed

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waterbury-mikvahPenny Overton of The Republican American reports: Waterbury’s Orthodox Jewish community has completed constructing its mikvah, but a series of setbacks – ranging from bacterial contamination to licensing troubles – has delayed its opening.

The Waterbury Yeshiva community built its mikvah – housed inside an unmarked raised ranch on Roseland Avenue – eight months ago, but has yet to get a certificate of occupancy from the city.

Initially, the Yeshiva had to delay the opening because the water inside the well that fed the pool tested positive for bacteria, said deputy health director Shane Lockwood.

But the city and the Yeshiva worked together to find a solution that would comply with both government and religious law. The Yeshiva agreed to install an ultraviolet light system – something rarely used in Connecticut, but sometimes used at mikvaos around the world – that would kill the bacteria.

Lockwood said the Yeshiva hired people to figure out how to retrofit the mikvah building, which boasted an intricate piping system to carry the “living water” from well to pool properly, but another setback soon halted all activity.

The contractor the Yeshiva hired to drill its well doesn’t have a Connecticut license, Lockwood said. The contractor has a current New York license, and appears to have done fine work, but the city is unable to grant a certificate of occupancy for a well dug by an unlicensed driller, he said.

The city calls this licensing problem a temporary setback. Lockwood said the Yeshiva is helping the driller get his Connecticut well-drilling license, and once that’s done the city expects to grant the full certificate of occupancy to the mikvah building without further delay.

{Republican American/matzav.com Newscenter}


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