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Questions and Answers Village of Altamont Water Source Development Project Frequently Asked Questions
Updated May 16, 2005 The Village of Altamont has conducted two information sessions on April 12 and April 26 for over 100 Village and Town residents interested in the current Altamont water project. In addition, the Village has responded to several letters and spoken to many individuals in the past weeks about the conduct of Altamont's water project. The following Frequently Asked Questions and responses (FAQ) were compiled from interested citizens. The FAQ is posted on the Village Website (Altamontvillage.org) and the printed document is available at the Village Office. Please call 861-8554 if you wish a copy of the information. Project Summary The proposed project involves developing a new well site along Brandle Road, and constructing a new water main from the well site into the Village via Route 156. The new well site would consist of two water wells, each with capacity of about 275 gallons per minute (400,000 gallons per day), a well house (approximately 12’ x 18’) for disinfection equipment, electrical equipment and control systems, and an emergency generator for use during power outages. The reservoirs and water filtration plant would be used only as an emergency backup. With three wells (the existing Gun Club Road well and the two proposed new wells), the water system will have a New York State Department of Health rated source capacity of approximately 620,000 gallons per day, or more. This would provide capacity approximately double the current usage. 1. How much water is used throughout the village’s water system? Over the past couple of years, water use has averaged about 184,000 gallons per day, and has reached about 301,000 gallons per day during periods of high use. 2. What sources of water supply does the village now depend on? The village has one well along Gun Club Road that has a capacity of about 158 gallons per minute (227,000 gallons per day), constructed in the late 1960’s. The village also takes water from two reservoirs in the Town of Knox. Water from the reservoirs is piped through about 2.3 miles of late 1890’s vintage pipeline to a filtration plant with capacity of about 80 gallons per minute (115,000 gallons per day). 3. Why does the village need to make improvements to the water supply? The capacity of the village’s water system, and reliability of the system does not meet Department of Health standards. Further, it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet safe drinking water standards at the water filtration plant. 4. Is the Gun Club Road well reliable? The Gun Club Road well has served the village for nearly 40 years, and there is no reason to believe that it can’t continue to provide reliable service. Considering its age, however, the well needs to be inspected and may need to be cleaned and redeveloped. Further, the pump has exceeded its expected useful life and will need to be replaced in the near future. 5. Why not continue to use the village’s reservoirs and water treatment plant? There are several reasons for developing new groundwater wells for water supply instead of continuing to use the reservoirs:
6. What is the schedule for completing the project? The village has already located a productive well site, executed an option agreement for purchase of the site, and completed the environmental review. The anticipated schedule from this point forward is as follows: April 2005 Hold public informational meetings regarding the project June 2005 Hold a public hearing on a bond resolution July 2005 Resolve to borrow the funds necessary to construct the project and begin design of the improvements Dec/Jan 2005 Solicit bids for construction Summer 2006 Complete construction 7 Is the project being designed to expand supply of water outside the village? The project is not being designed with the specific intent of expanding water supply outside the village, but the capacity of the new well site would be sufficient to accommodate some additional out-of-village supply if the village chooses to approve such service. 8. How much will the project cost, and how much could it impact my water bill (worst case)? The project’s estimated capital cost, including accommodating Camp Wildwood in the routing of the pipe, is $1.4 million.
The impact on people’s water bills will depend on a number of factors that have yet to be finally decided on, such as: the terms of borrowing, whether the village decides to sell additional water outside the village, whether the village decides to increase its fees for connection of new customers, and whether the village is successful at securing grants for the project. As a “worst case scenario”, if the village were to finance the project without the benefit of grants at an interest rate of 4.5% over 20 years, and were not to increase revenue by increasing connection fees and/or additional water sales, the estimated impact on water costs to the typical single family home would be as follows.
Current cost $ 260 per year ($ 28.42 per month) Projected cost increase: $ 95 per year ($ 7.92 per month) Projected total cost: $ 355 per year ($ 29.59 per month)
This represents a 37.5% increase (worst case). For comparison purposes, the state-wide average water district charge as measured by the Comptroller’s Office is $ 575 per year ($ 47.92 per month). 9. What is the Village Board considering in order to minimize the cost to village residents? The Board of Trustees is actively pursuing grant and low interest loan funding from state and federal programs. Also, consideration is being given to using a portion of reserve funds, increasing the fees charged for connection of new water services to the water system, and to selling more water (inside or outside the village) to increase revenues, thereby offsetting costs incurred by village residents. The Village Board is committed to mitigating costs to village residents. For every $100,000 offset of capital cost that we are able to achieve, the cost to the typical homeowner will be correspondingly reduced. Potential mitigated scenarios are:
Technical questions about the wells and pipeline:
10. Do we know the source of the new wells? Where do they draw from?
The Brandle Road test production well is installed in a surficial aquifer, which consists of water within sand and gravel deposits that are below the ground but above bedrock. When the well is being pumped, water is entering the well casing from all directions. The approximate limits of the aquifer are shown on a map in the power point presentation that was presented at the public information meetings. The presentation – including the map - is available for viewing on the village’s web site.
11. Are the wells at 45 and 50 ft. considered surface water? No. Surface water is water which is open to the atmosphere, such as a lake, river or even a spring outlet. Groundwater is water which has flowed through soil to get where it is, and is generally of better quality than surface water because the soil tends to filter groundwater as it flows past, and it is protected from many likely sources of contamination. In certain cases where a groundwater well is relatively shallow or close to a surface water source, the Health Department may require testing to show that the well cannot be affected by surface contaminants. The Brandle Road well may need to be tested in this way, however testing already performed indicates that the well water is of excellent quality, meeting all Department of Health safe drinking water standards.
12. How deep are the wells going to be on Brandle? The wells will be approximately 42 – 50 feet deep. 13. How many wells will be drilled on the Brandle site? Two wells are proposed for the Brandle Road site. One (the test production well) has already been drilled and tested, and that well will become one of the permanent production wells. 14. How do we know that these two wells on Brandle Road won't run dry during a drought? Aren't they from the same Aquifer as the Gun Club?
The wells along Brandle Road are believed to be in the same aquifer as the Gun Club Road well, but are far enough apart that they are not expected to effect each other’s yield.
The test production well on Brandle Road was pump tested for 72 hours at a rate of about 400 gallons per minute (gpm) during the summer of 2004. According to the hydrogeologists that oversaw the pump testing, the well could have been pumped at a rate of up to 685 gpm during that time. However, the hydrogeologists have recommended a much more conservative “safe sustained yield” rating of 275 gpm (about 400,000 gallons per day) to account for expected reduction in well capacity during periods of severe drought. 15. What happens if another outside area begins to drill for water – can their drilling have any negative effect on our water source? New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) would issue a Water Supply Permit to the village that allocates 275 gallons per minute (400,000 gallons per day) to the Village of Altamont. The water supply permit process is the regulatory mechanism used by the NYSDEC to ensure that the water resources are not over-allocated. If others propose to withdrawal any significant amounts of water from the same aquifer, they would have to demonstrate that their proposed taking would not interfere with the Village of Altamont’s permitted taking before NYSDEC would issue that entity a permit for their proposed wells. 16. With this plan, is there any ability to use both the new wells and the reservoirs? It is the village’s intent to maintain the reservoirs for the foreseeable future so they could be used in an extreme emergency if necessary. 17. Do the two wells on Brandle Road draw water at the same time, or is one a backup for the other? It is intended that only one of the wells would operate at any given time. The second well would serve as a backup in accordance with Health Department standards. 18. Is there a water improvement plan to repair and maintain the older parts of our water system infrastructure?
Yes. The Facility Plan prepared by Barton & Loguidice, P.C. in January 2005 evaluated the entire Village water system and presented a plan for repairing deficiencies. A copy of this report is presented on the Village of Altamont website at www.altamontvillage.org or may be viewed at the Village Offices. 19. Can we assume that when the new wells are in place that our water quality issues will be over?
Considering current and pending drinking water quality regulations, this is a reasonable assumption for the foreseeable future. The notification regarding the presence of Trihalomethanes in the drinking water that was received by residents this past fall was associated with the water from the reservoirs – not the water from our well. Eliminating our dependence on the reservoirs, therefore, will correct this problem. 20. Will the new well have to be chlorinated?
Yes. All public water supplies must be disinfected in accordance with New York State law. Further, public water systems are required to maintain a detectable amount of chlorine in the water distribution piping system in order to mitigate potential growth of pathogens. Therefore, chlorine will have to be added to the well water. . 21. Is the well situation in any jeopardy at this point in time? Does Altamont own the land?
The Village is currently exercising its option to purchase the well site land from the current owners, but the transaction is not yet complete. Litigation has been initiated by the owners challenging the purchase, however the Village attorney advises that the option agreement is sound and legally binding so no significant problems are foreseen at this time.
22. Will the water mains be located in the road right-of-way or on private property? The water mains that run along roadways (i.e. Brandle Road or Rt. 156) will be located within the road right-of-way between the pavement and the property line wherever possible. In areas where obstructions make this impractical – such as areas where the right-of-way is congested with other utilities, or the topography of the right-of-way is too difficult to construct on – then the Village will request easements from private property owners to allow the Village to locate the water main within the property line, or work simply to provide sufficient space for the contractors to work. The easement, which is recorded on the property deed, essentially would give the Village “permission” to place and maintain the water main in a defined area of the property along the roadway. The property would still be owned by the original property owner, and the Village would restore any landscape features that may be disturbed during installation of the pipeline. Questions about Village policy:
23. How much is the Village willing to expand in relation to our new water supply capacity? How much (additional water demand) can we take on?
Although the Village Board is aware of several potential development projects, the current Board of Trustees has not had any focused discussions, nor made any policy decisions to date relative to expanding the Village or its water service area as a result of the potential extra water capacity. A Master Planning Committee led by Trustee Dean Whalen has been established. Such policy issues will be discussed amongst the Board of Trustees and with the public in the future as part of the Master Planning process.
The proposed new water wells, together with our existing Gun Club Road well would afford the village capacity to supply a maximum day demand of about 620,000 gallons – or about two times our maximum day demand over the past several years. 24. What is the criteria for giving water outside of the Village?
Presently the Village has a policy that it will not permit new water connections to parcels outside the Village limits. Should the Village decide to change this policy after the new water supply is operational, the criteria for connections will need to be specified at that time. These policy decisions will be considered in relation to our overall master planning initiative that is underway. Questions about the cost and financing of the water project: 25. Have you done any research on potential hook-up fees of others not in the system helping to finance the costs of the new system? Development? The Village Board of Trustees is considering potential increases in connection fees for new connections to the water system, which would provide additional revenue to pay for the project. However, a formal proposal has not yet been developed. 26. What is the cost of canceling this plan and upgrading our system? The cost of upgrading the village’s reservoirs, raw water transmission main and water treatment plant was estimated to be about $2.6 million – which would be much more costly than developing a new groundwater supply, which is estimated to be about $1.4 million. Also, the more expensive option of upgrading our reservoirs, raw water transmission main and water treatment plant would not result in an increase in our water supply capacity, which is currently stretched to its limit.
The village is not proposing to expand water supply toward other municipalities. 27. Water and sewer charges are part of the same bill, and sewer charges are calculated as a percent of water charges. If we increase the water rates to pay for the project, will we be increasing the sewer rate by the proportional amount? (Are we going to "unlink" the two?) An increase in the water rates would apply only to the water portion of the water and sewer bill. An appropriate adjustment will be made in the calculation of the sewer portion of the bill.
The Village Board of Trustees is considering using funds currently in reserve in the sewer account to pay off a loan early. It is estimated that this action would reduce the sewer portion of the bill by nearly the amount that the water project would increase the bill, thereby resulting in no substantial increase in the total water and sewer bill to village residents. 28. What is the chance of the Village obtaining grants to pay for the project? The Village Board of Trustees is exploring potential grant opportunities for the project. However, we have confirmed that our village does not meet the criteria for many of the traditional programs that are designed to provide grants to communities with predominantly low to moderate income households. The Village has been in active conversation with its federal and State elected representatives and are encouraged by their commitment to assist with the project, especially as it impacts the senior and disabled populations. 29. What's the cost difference if we take the line down Brandle Road instead of Rt. 156?
Depending on the exact route selected for the pipe, the Route 156 pipeline alternative could cost up to $250,000 more than the Brandle Road pipeline alternative. 30. What is the % increase for those outside the Village? 7%?
Since the Board is currently considering a number of options to reduce the financial burden of the water project, it is premature to cite a specific cost increase for ratepayers either inside or outside the Village. However, cost projections performed to date have all been made assuming an equal percentage increase for Village and Town residents. Therefore under this scenario, if the Village water rates increase by 25%, the Town rates will also increase by 25%. 31. The Village Board is considering paying off the sewer loan before taking the water loan. Why is this better than simply financing the water project without paying off the sewer loan? Are we sure we won’t have to do any more work at the sewer plant?
If the village continued to make its current $70,000 sewer loan principal payments the remaining five-year loan term, the village will pay an additional $28,000 in interest over the remaining five years and sewer fees must stay at their current levels to ensure sufficient revenue to make the loan payments. In this case, the proposed water loan payments would be in addition to the sewer loan payments, and the overall cost to water and sewer users would increase.
If the village pays off its outstanding sewer loan balance before securing a water loan, the sewer fees can go down at the same time that water fees are raised, thereby reducing or eliminating the overall cost increase to water and sewer users. Given the lower burden to ratepayers and the savings in loan interest, the village believes it makes better sense to access the sewer reserve funds to completely pay off the outstanding sewer loan.
32. Will Village residents have to vote on borrowing money for the project? Section 9-902 of the Village Law provides that after the Village Board of Trustees passes a bond resolution, a permissive referendum on the borrowing of money will be held if, within 30 days of adoption of the resolution, a petition is filed, signed by at least 20 percent of the qualified electors in the Village, calling for a referendum on the borrowing. If no petition is filed, the Village Board will proceed with borrowing the funds at the least expensive rate.
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