One of the town's long-time economic and social goals, providing water to more people and businesses along Federal Road, will achieve two new targets in the next 60 days, reaching Route 133 and reaching condos at Silvermine Road.

The water lines are nearly complete to Route 133 and across Silvermine Road to condominium projects at Newbury Crossing, Ledgewood Association and High Meadows. One bridge crossing must still be completed before the work can be finished. New, larger water pumps arrived at the Brookfield Water Company last week, and water lines now installed along Federal Road to Route 133 and along Silvermine will see their first water start flowing before summer.

The three things to remember, said former First Selectman Jerry Murphy, is the water will help residents, it will encourage businesses and increase property tax revenue on Federal Road. He said water users are paying for the water lines and the water.

Murphy said Brookfield has been working on this issue for more than 10 years, and it faces a state Department of Health deadline of December 2011 to provide water to residents at Sandy Lane Village across Federal Road from Costco. The Sandy Lane Village stage is the next stage after Silvermine and Route 133, and it must be completed within the next 21 months.

"We're racing to put more and more line in," said Martin Handshy, a member of the Brookfield Water Advisory Committee, and a developer of Newbury Village, an age-restricted elderly housing development north of Four Corners. "It has a lot of momentum behind it now."

Bringing water to Federal Road has been a goal for years, and this latest step to Route 133 isn't the end of the project. Brookfield estimates the total cost from New Milford to Danbury at about $5 million. The state paid about $2 million of it through Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grants, which provide economic development money to small towns.

Beyond Sandy Lane is the final goal of reaching the Danbury line and connecting to the Danbury system. Danbury won't be contributing water to Brookfield, but in an emergency, such as a fire, the towns would be part of a regional network that would allow water to flow in either direction. That is a state goal, to connect municipal water companies, called "wheeling."

"This has taken a lot of leg work, a lot of negotiation and a lot of meetings," said State Rep. David Scribner, who represents the 107^th district, which includes Brookfield and Bethel. Scribner started working on this issue 11 years ago when he was first elected to office in 1999.

To date, Scribner helped Brookfield get $2 million in state STEAP grants to build the lines.

"The water lines end up helping people lower their insurance costs, increasing their property values and attracting business," according to Scribner.