The Saratoga County Water Authority fielded questions from the Clifton Park Water Authority and audience members during the CPWA’s board meeting Wednesday, Feb. 20.
The discussion followed a presentation by the county water project’s lead engineer Dan Loewenstein from Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.
Bob Wilcox, who resigned as council for the CPWA, attended the meeting. He asked how long the Town of Queensbury has been drawing water from the upper Hudson River, and how far from the pipe would the county be drawing water. SCWA authority members said Queensbury had been drawing water from their source for more than 20 years.
After receiving the answer, Wilcox commented that Queensbury has clean, good water.
When asked about the water rate, the county authority said that they will not know exactly what the final water rate will be until the water is turned on, but said the water rate would not increase above the proposed rate of $2.05.
County officials said they are contracted with customers to supply 3 million gallons of water per day.
We’re actively working, said Anita Daly, a county supervisor representing Clifton Park, `We have quite a few irons in the works.`
Daly also said that Advanced Micro Devices would likely exceed their projected use of 2 million gallons of water per day.
At a Town of Malta workshop, attended by representatives from AMD, Monday, Feb. 25, AMD officials said they would use 3 million gallons of water per day at the onset. This figure is 150 percent of the county authority’s initial projected use.
The $67 million project, which is dependent on a $4.8 million loan from the county general fund until the plant is in its seventh year of operation, is funded through $33 million in grants from sources including the Dormitory Authority and the Empire State Development Corporation.
The county is seeking a permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation, which requires towns in Saratoga County to show interest in the county system in order to establish a basis for public necessity.
The county’s plan is to draw water from the Hudson River in Moreau and pipe it along the Northway to the southern end of the county, where it will serve the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
Pipeline work will be completed in 2008, according to Loewenstein.
In regards to the displacement of lines that were to run under property owned by the YMCA on West Avenue in Saratoga Springs, Daly said, `We have to be responsible. We have to move lines when necessary.`
The YMCA is at issue with the price offered for the purchase of the land.
According to county officials, about 12 more residential easements are needed. The project required 174 easements total.
The CPWA recently indicated to the Saratoga County Water Authority that the county water plan would remain a viable option as the town’s water supply. However, they said their main concern is for Clifton Park’s residents and ratepayers.
In a Wednesday, Dec. 12 press release the Clifton Park Water Authority said, `As has been previously stated, and in light of publicized challenges facing neighboring municipalities, the CPWA Board of Directors will continue to exercise prudence and due diligence in evaluating all viable options before committing the ratepayers of our town to binding contracts and obligations.“
