On July 21, Norfolk residents may have wondered what was happening, some kind of disaster perhaps? A police standoff? The Town Center was closed for several hours and traffic rerouted to enable the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department to conduct a massive water flow test. The NVFD worked in cooperation with fire departments from Winchester, Winsted, North Canaan, Colebrook and Lakeville.

Nearly one mile of hoses, 2200 feet from the Norfolk Department Itself, were connected to hydrants as well as to the mill pool along Westside Road. High-pressure streams were directed from several trucks, mainly into the Town Meadow behind the Greenwoods Theater.

“We were hoping for a flow of around 3000 gallons per minute,” said Norfolk’s Deputy Chief, Matthew Ludwig. “We actually got 4200 for 45 minutes—almost 200,000 gallons total. That speaks well for Aquarion’s water main capacity and makes us very happy that we have adequate water.”