Call for public comment sees few takers at recent meeting
As the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix itand as evidenced by the existence of thousands of homes and businesses, the Bethlehem water system is working. But new federal regulations slated for 2012 require a decision on the future of Bethlehem’s water supply must be made sooner rather than later.
That’s when new regulations on the monitoring of disinfectant byproducts` go into effect, and unfortunately for the Town of Bethlehem, the new Environmental Protection Agency guidelines have a deep impact on the status quo.
In short, chlorine added to drinking water reacts with organic compounds to form the aforementioned byproducts, chemicals like chlorite or haloacetic acids. The government has required testing for these elements, but in 2012 to town will have to draw samples from the furthest limits of the system, where the water sits longer and has more opportunity to form these byproducts.
So the town needs to make a change to keep water from the Vly Creek Reservoir moving through the system faster. Town engineers are suggesting sending well water processed by the Clapper Road Water Treatment Plant out into the larger system, keeping things flowing in the far reaches of the water system. The well water it draws also does not contain organic matter like algae, so the water won’t form byproducts, unlike the above-ground reservoir water drawn by the New Salem plant.
`What it’s going to do is change the water age at parts of the system,` said Deputy DWP Commissioner Erik Deyoe.
The other alternatives ` buying more water from the City of Albany or rebuilding the New Salem plant ` would also meet the EPA requirements. All of the options would have consequences on how costly and flexible the town’s supply will be for years to come.
Interestingly, the three options have similar price tags over the long term, between $130 and $140 million through 2023. A lot of that cost has to do with continuing to buy Albany water. Renegotiating to buy more would result in better terms, but still saddle the town with a substantial fixed cost that can’t be dialed back should demand decrease.
Rebuilding New Salem would have a substantial up-front cost, since it must be done immediately. But again, if demand for water decreases the town would be left with debt service on a plant it doesn’t need.
Under either scenario, rates would increase sharply, potentially driving away economy development.
Town engineers are instead recommending wedding Clapper Road’s output to the rest of the water system. It’s more expensive to produce water at Clapper Road because it has to be pumped from the source, but expanding its use would not result in more long-term, fixed costs. Come 2023, there would be no additional contractual costs or debt service, something the other two plans can’t promise. And if demand falls, the town could simply make less water.
`From my point of view, capital is the most important because it’s right here today,` said Greg Daviero, of town consultant Malcolm Pirnie. `Once I’ve spent a dollar today, it’s spent.`
These factors were discussed at a Town Board meeting Wednesday, Sept. 22. Despite sparking a a public debate years ago, only two members of the public spoke on the issue of water supply during a period reserved for comment. Both spoke about the contract with Albany, including Bob Jazinski, who wondered if the town could sue to get out of the contract.
`We’re certainly looking into options with respect to that contract,` said Town Attorney James Potter in response.
But the Town Board had more questions for the DPW, including specifics on how they test for the presence of PCBs in the well water.
DPW Commissioner Josh Cansler explained there have been 23 samples analyzed for PCBs between 2002 and 2009, and in only one instance were they found in the raw water at a level of 9.57 parts per trillion, which is about 50 times less than the EPA level for safe drinking water.
The town does PCB tests quarterly. That’s twice as often as if required, which costs about an extra $25,000 per year.
The town is required to conduct a litany of tests to account for a range of elements both o the raw and finished water. 7,300 analyses have been conducted since 1996.
The Town Board set a public hearing on the issue of water supply options to be held at the Town Board meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 13.“
