DELMAR — With the town’s two most conspicuous water towers down for maintenance, Bethlehem officials are asking for cooperation to steady the water supply.
The Kenwood Avenue water tower, located at 308 Kenwood Ave., was drained in December due to a leak. Before taking the tank offline, town public works officials applied for grant funding to get a new tank, but the funding was denied.
“We’re in the process now of trying to secure grant funding to help us pay to replace it with a new tank so we don’t put all the costs on the rate payers and the customers in town,” Bethlehem Commissioner of Public Works George Kansas said.
The Elm Avenue tank, located at 504 Elm Ave., has been drained for overall maintenance. Crews are currently removing cellular equipment from the face and top of the tank so it can be resurfaced and painted. The tank will be repainted inside and out, and a mixer will be added.
The mixer will be used to mix chlorine into the water constantly. The chlorine is added to the water to safely store and transport it, as well as reduce bacteria and pathogens. It also will give the water the taste that most people are used to.
“The painting is long overdue, but the mixing is a good improvement as well to add to the project,” Kansas said.
With both towers offline, Bethlehem public works sent a letter in early April to the volunteer fire departments asking for their cooperation.
The letter asks that the fire departments limit the amount of water being used during training. This request also asks them to refrain from using the larger hoses and multiple hydrants if possible. This request does not apply to fighting active fires.
“They asked us to refrain from using LDH (Large Diameter Hoses) for training purposes until later in the year,” Elsmere Fire Chief Marc Futia said. “We can still train, and the most important part of that training is for our firefighters to handle the larger hoses. Compared to regular inch-and-three-quarter hoses, it is like moving a whole couch versus a single chair.”
The chiefs said that the central part of the training for town departments, however, will still take place.
“We can still train on our tower and we can still put out fires,” said Delmar Fire Chief Dan Ryan, referring to the Kevin M. Shea Training Center on Center Lane in Glenmont. The site provides a facility where the town’s firefighters train on a weekly basis.
The training center features a tower that simulates fighting an interior structure fire. The chiefs say that training is crucial to success in knocking down fires in a quick attack.
The water system has yet to see any decrease or dip in water delivery to residents. However, the request to the volunteer fire department is to prevent any such dip from happening.
Public works anticipate the maintenance of the Elm Street tower to be complete by fall. In the meantime, the town will be pulling water from a six million-gallon storage tank in New Scotland. Water will also be supplemented by an agreement made with the City of Albany to provide Bethlehem 1.3 million gallons of water per day, but the town can use up to 2 million.
“Our system is handling [the needs of fighting fires] OK,” Kansas said. “We are not anticipating any restrictions against our residents.”
Although public works has asked for the volunteer fire department’s cooperation, there are no restrictions for residents. The system has upheld residents’ demands and the department is confident it will continue to do so.. With spring here and summer approaching, public works officials are assuring residents that their water usage will not be an issue.
All in all, Bethlehem public works is hopeful of the progression of the maintenance project on Elm Street. They are also confident in the water system that it will meet the demands of residents while the tanks remain offline.
“Our system hasn’t missed a beat,” Kansas said.