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Frequently Asked Questions
Village of Altamont Water Source Development Project Updated 4/26/05 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. Question: How much water is used throughout the village’s water system? Answer: 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. Question: What sources of water supply does the village now depend on? Answer: 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). Question: Why does the village need to make improvements to the water supply? Answer: 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. Question: Is the Gun Club Road well reliable? Answer: 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. Question: Why not continue to use the village’s reservoirs and water treatment plant? Answer: There are several reasons for developing new groundwater wells for water supply instead of continuing to use the reservoirs:
Question: What is the schedule for completing the project? Answer: 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 Question: Is the project being designed to expand supply of water outside the village? Answer: 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. Question: How much will the project cost, and how much could it impact my water bill (worst case)? Answer: 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). Question: What is the Village Board considering in order to minimize the cost to village residents? Answer: 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:
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