Town secures state grant for water projects
The town will receive a grant of nearly $2.5 million from the state Environmental Facilities Corp. to help pay the $4.3 million cost of replacing water lines that are nearly 90 years old and upgrading the water treatment plant.
Esopus Supervisor Shannon Harris said the pipe replacements will cover nearly 2 miles.
“When we did the engineering study of our drinking water system, it included a report and mapping ... for a grant to implement any of the improvements that were prioritized,” she said. “So we applied for a water infrastructure improvement grant ... and we were successful for the maximum amount.”
Estimates for work at the water treatment plant work include $199,000 for electrical system upgrades and a standby generator; $366,000 for structural improvements; and $229,000 for processing and mechanical items.
Water line replacements are planned in areas where the flow needs to be improved to meet standards for firefighting. The study noted lowest overall flows are in the hamlet of Connelly and the western portion of the hamlet of Port Ewen.
The existing smaller lines increase the time it takes water to reach customers, resulting in water staying in the pipes in some low-flow areas for 200 to 400 hours. The maximum amount of time water should remain in pipes is 158 hours, which is just under a week, a town consultant said previously.
“What typically ... [is] considered a standard, reliable and acceptable water age is less than a week,” Kyle Kortright said.
Harris said the planned work will reduce long-term costs for repairs.
“We’ve been maintaining and putting Band Aids on the broken water mains that we have, but nobody’s ever made any major repairs or updates at all,” she said. “So there’s so much to be done . ... This is where we have to direct our limited resources to getting this done now before all the grants dry up.”