Village awaits water tower, pipe replacement projects

Village officials expect the construction of a 300,000-gallon water tower in the next few weeks to be the first step of a $5 million plan to update the village’s water system.

In a telephone interview Thursday, Mayor Joel Griffith said the tank replacement will cost about $2.5 million.

“Our old water tower dates from 1938, so this is a very big deal for us,” he said. “We got state grants and zero interest loans to pay for it.”

Village officials successfully secured about $3.8 million in state grants and $2.2 million in loans from the state Environmental Facilities Corp. for the infrastructure project.

The new water storage facility, which will be on County Route 78, will replace a 150,000-gallon tower at the village park.

“When we remove the old one, it will give us some room in our park,” Griffith said.

Village officials found that the cost of repainting the current tower would have been about the same as replacing it.

“It is also undersized, and when that tower went up, Tivoli was half as big as it is now,” Griffith said. “For current water flow and fire protection, the recommendation is we have more like 250,000 gallons.”

The water system serves a village population of 1,100, with about 470 connections.

Tivoli last year turned operation of the village system over to the Dutchess County Water and Waste Water Authority.

“In addition to the water tank replacement, there are going to be water main replacements and well upgrades,” Griffith said.

“We’ve had plenty of water main breaks over the last two decades,” he said. “Our pipes are ancient, and they break every winter.”