Town’s water woes: boil orders, old meters

Rockland to address system-wide issues

By Kara Didrich | Manor Ink

Town of Rockland, NY – Aging infrastructure, multi-million dollar replacement needs, intermittent service interruptions – these are a few of the issues that Town of Rockland officials are managing right now as part of the town’s water-and-sewer systems. The system serves approximately 1,200 residents through 475 service connections in Livingston Manor and approximately 1,000 residents through 275 service connections in Roscoe.

Jennifer DeVantier works full-time as the water-and-sewer clerk for the town, reporting to town supervisor Rob Eggleton. Recently, she and Eggleton helped Manor Ink understand several issues that have been impacting the Livingston Manor and Roscoe Water and Sewer District customers.

Issues to be resolved

Recently, six customers were impacted by a water main break on Orchard Street in Livingston Manor. The resulting low water pressure required a boil advisory for those customers from April 7 to April 13.

Manor customers also received a “Notice of Violation” from the state in February regarding a required test for inorganic chemicals that had not been done. “We sent out the required notice to residents in the Livingston Manor Water District,” DeVantier said. “Rest assured, it has now been completed and came back clean.

“We have a notification system so that residents affected automatically get notifications if they need to boil their water for a short period, or are likely to experience low water pressure due to repairs or unusual activity in the system. So far, only 40 people have signed up for the alerts,” said DeVantier.

Last year, a water clarifier failed at the Roscoe sewer plant, resulting in detectable odors, most noticeably at the Roscoe Campground. The town applied for and received emergency funding from the Environmental Finance Corporation, and parts have been ordered. A second new clarifier is also on order, as has been reported in Manor Ink. In the meantime, the town has temporarily reduced the odor by adding a caustic solution to the sewer.

Major investments needed

Many of the problems that residents face are due to the need for additional capital equipment replacements. Eggleton reported that the town has identified these major capital needs:

• Because only one of Roscoe’s two wells is working, a new well and well-site are on the docket.

• In Livingston Manor, a new water tower is needed to replace the current one that has reached its useful life.

• In both hamlets, most of the water meters have exceeded their useful life, are often not working and need replacing.

“We’ve been working for two years on plans for and funding of a new water tower in Livingston Manor, and a new well in Roscoe,” Eggleton explained. “These are multi-million dollar investments, so we are navigating the financing options to get zero interest loans from the NY State Environmental Funding Corporation. We are hoping to get that.”

Replacing the town’s water meters will be a costly project, but the town has received a $570,000 grant to replace all of them by September.

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency requires the Town of Rockland to conduct an annual lead and copper inventory for service lines owned both by the town and private residents. Currently, at least half of homeowners have not had their service line materials verified, and DeVantier urged water customers to do so.

“Please reach out if you believe that your lines have not been verified,” she said. To date, however, the inventory as well as water test results have not identified lead as a problem.

“Providing clean water to our residents is a top priority at all times, as is managing our sewage treatment plants,” said Eggleton.

Both Eggleton and DeVantier stressed that residents should sign up for the free emergency notification system.