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200 Residents Identified In Theft Of Water In Lake Peekskill
Town makes plans to shut down summer water system
by Edward Paul Greiff
"As of noon on Friday, July 19th it was reported to me that 200 Lake Peekskill residents have been identified in the theft of water," said Putnam Valley Councilman Peter Kennedy, as he presided over the District’s quarterly meeting held at Town Hall on Saturday, July 20.
Councilman Kennedy was joined by District Clerk Eileen Royal, County Legislator Sam Oliverio, Town Highway Superintendent Earl Smith, Town Supervisor Carmelo Santos, Councilman Steve Johnson, New York State Assemblywoman Sandy Galef and over seventy-five residents of Lake Peekskill.
Kennedy started the meeting by saying, "I think the days of subsidization are numbered for the Lake Peekskill seasonal water system."
The Councilman said that while the system serves 114 out of 1,024 homes in the Lake Peekskill community, it has cost the district $130,000 to $140,000 a year to operate and maintain, and receives only $28,500 in revenue. Those on that water system pay a fee of $250 a year. Kennedy said that the shortfall between revenue and expenses is absorbed by the 910 homes that do not use the water at all, through their district taxes.
Kennedy showed an invoice from the City of New York, showing that while estimated usage for the month of May was 1.03 million gallons, the actual total consumption was 3.4 million, resulting in $5,100 billed for excess water usage.
In June, the Board hired a leak detection company, at a cost to district residents of nearly $17,000. "We decided we would do it in two phases," said Kennedy, "First, to monitor our infrastructure to determine if there were leaks in the system. They reported back on Friday July 5, and said they found very few leaks. At that point we told them to go ahead with phase two and check the individual home connections." New York Leak Detection reported back to Kennedy on Friday, July 19 that they had identified over 200 illegal hookups, and that the number could go as high as 300.
There are two bodies of legislation that afford the district residents the opportunity to protect themselves. One is the Lake Peekskill Improvement District Water Service Rates and Rules, which has been in effect since the late forties, and which was modified about ten years ago. These rules call for a penalty of expenses incurred by the district for correcting the violation, and a fine of $500.
In June of this year, the Town Board adopted a local law adding civil and criminal penalties for theft of water and further clarifying illegal use of water.
"People need to be held responsible for their actions," said Kennedy. He said the district could recover $450,000 if they made the 200+ violators pay a fine of $250 each.
It was agreed at the meeting to send out notification to everyone identified, and give them a final chance.
The potability of the water is also in question. One man said his water was yellow, and another said his was brown, with pipes are so corroded that diameter opening was very small. Councilman Steve Johnson said that it is a district responsibility to notify everyone in the district when the water does not meet New York State Department of Health requirements – this has not been done, despite notice by the Health Department in April that one of the things the district had to do was send out that notification.
Kennedy said his recommendation is going to be to shut the water system down. based on the recommendations of their engineering consultants. The report by the Laberge Group states that in order to keep the seasonal system in operation past the 2003 deadline stipulated by the State, several improvements and operational changes would have to be implemented.
According to the report, the items required by the NYS Department of Health are numerous and would cost over $600,000.
"And they didn’t even touch on redoing the piping and distribution system," said Kennedy. "If you add those together, your costs would be a million dollars, plus the cost of installing new meters in every house."
Laberge’s recommendation is to give serious consideration to ceasing the operation of the seasonal water system due to the inequities in distribution of its operational cost. The Town should continue its exploration of developing a year-round municipal water system to preserve the Lake Peekskill area.
Kennedy said, "I think it’s time to face the economic realities of that system… it is my recommendation, based on the engineering report, that on the first of September, the plan that is put forth to the NYS Department of Health is that the seasonal water system be permanently shut down. We know there will be some hardships. We know there are some 27 homes that have no wells, but the Town will work with these people to help them solve their water problems. We are not going to abandon anyone."
Once the Town officially puts forth a plan, then the County might consider relaxing some of the requirements for wells, such as reducing the 100-foot requirement to 50 feet, and the possible use of water tanks for storage.
Sam Oliverio said it is similar to what happened at Wildwood Knolls when the water was shut down. The County came in and allowed variances for wells and it has been working ever since.
An audience member asked whether the existing aquifer water table could support the additional wells that would have to be drilled. Kennedy replied that it was a concern, as three million gallons a month currently go through these homes and back into the ground. "By shutting down the system we are shutting off that tap," said Kennedy, who added, "We are concerned about water in Putnam Valley."
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