Town of Canadice Water Project moves forward
Canadice Press –
After years of planning and delays, the wait for municipal water will soon be over for lakeshore residents in Canadice, NY. The idea of bringing public water to the general area of the Honeoye Lakefront in Candice is a decades old one. Past proposals were dropped for many reasons, including lack of public support – either during early discussion phases or with formal voter referendums. It was not until August 20, 2011 that a referendum passed allowing the project to move forward. Now, six years after that vote, public water for the targeted residents is closer to becoming a reality. The public hearing on the local law for the Water District is scheduled for August 14th. The Local Law would amend the Town of Canadice Town Code by adding Chapter 90, “Water,” outlining the procedures for operation of the newly established water district.
Per the 2011 referendum, the plan is to establish a potable (safe drinking) water service district in the Town of Canadice, serving Honeoye Lakefront residents from the Richmond Town line southward to just south of Lakes End Lane (County Road 36 and Old West Lake Roads – parallel to the waterfront). One of the earliest changes to the initial referendum related to who would handle Operation and Management (O&M) and supply of water for the system. Under the initial plan as approved in the 2011 referendum, the Town of Canadice would own the system, with the Town of Richmond responsible for O&M with water purchased by Town of Canadice from Town of Richmond, as an extension of the Town of Richmond water distribution system. The initial plan changed in the spring of 2012. Shortly after the Town of Canadice submitted their financial plan to the state comptroller for approval the Town of Richmond lost their only NYS licensed water systems operator. As a result, the Town of Richmond decided to lease their entire system to Monroe County Water Authority (MCWA), which meant that the Town of Canadice had lost the proposed entity they were looking to for both O&M and water supply as originally proposed. These operational changes also altered the financial plan and, as a result, delayed the NYS Comptroller office’s approval process until the Richmond-MCWA partnership was in place, and Canadice could formulate an alternative plan. During this delay, Canadice moved forward where possible, negotiating a contract for O&M with the City of Rochester Water Bureau. Revisions in the plan now call for the City of Rochester to provide O&M while MCWA remains responsible for the supply of water. The water still originates from the same source: the City of Rochester Hemlock filtration plant, supplied by Canadice and Hemlock Lakes.
There were also a number of funding changes as a result of the time that had elapsed since the initial referendum. There has been an increase in estimated project costs (from 4.24 million in 2014 to 5 million in 2015). However, thanks to the delay and a change in census data, the funding has changed from conventional municipal bond funding to subsidized USDA funding (which provides a 3.25% decrease in interest rates and an eight year extension on payment, as well as a $750,000 Rural Development Grant). This funding change has reduced the estimated annual cost for a typical household in the water district from $1,109 to 1,049.
For many, water treatment is an understood cost of having clean water. Nothing is better than cold, fresh, clean water from a deep well, but for many lakeshore residents this is not a viable option. The issues that private wells and other pumped water systems present have prompted many municipalities to extend water service to more rural locations. Lake systems require independent and costly privately owned filtration and treatment to make the water potable. The increase of blue-green algae blooms in Honeoye Lake has increased health concerns of residents using water from the lake, and increased the urgency for the Town of Canadice to offer its residents a viable and safe alternative.
As with any significant municipal project, there are many steps required to put the plan into action. The new funding required an archaeological study and (State Historic Preservation Office – SHPO) approval – a process completed in 2014 that allowed for the USDA Rural Development grant and low interest financing approval (Spring 2015). The (required) new financial approval from the NYS Comptroller was received in June 2015, followed by a revised project timeline from LaBella Associates in July 2015. At the July 13, 2015 Town Board meeting a resolution was passed establishing the water district along with authorization for the issuance of up to $5M in municipal bonds to finance the project ($750K will be paid off by the USDA Office of Rural Development). After locating and securing suitable property for the system’s water storage tank, the Town was able to get an updated detailed Project Overview from project engineering firm LaBella Assosciates in 2016. Despite the many time-consuming logistical hurdles, the district boundaries, service area and approximate water main locations remain essentially unchanged from the original May, 2011 Project Overview Document and the Water project is moving forward.
The next step is for the Town of Canadice to get additional public input. A public hearing will be held on Monday, August 14, 2017, 7:30 PM at Canadice Town Hall (5949 County Road 37, Springwater, NY). All interested parties are invited to attend and be heard. Copies of the proposed law are available for review in the office of the Town Clerk at the Town Hall during regular office hours or on the Town’s website.
The Town is in the process of communicating with water district residents to identify the general location they would prefer their curb stop to be located and the location of any private utilities they may have on the properties, or as close as they may know. Informational letters are being sent to each property owner. Another communication will be sent out in late September or early October (depending on the construction schedule and it’s progression) with the sign up information and diagrams of how they need to construct their service lines. According to Town of Canadice Supervisor Kris Singer, having the information back so that the Town can get it organized in a timely manner will help the project keep moving and hopefully moving smoothly.
Moving the Canadice Water Project forward has required significant effort on the part of those involved. Despite frustrations with the many delays, construction is scheduled to begin in late November 2017 (at the earliest). Connections are still planned to begin in late spring or early summer of 2018 (exact date to be determined). Signups for connections will begin over the winter of 2017-2018. Detailed information on all aspects of the project are available on the Town of Canadice website
– http://www.canadice.org/.