By Rob Sample
Opponents of a proposed $27 million water treatment plant for Water District Two in the Town of Carmel are continuing to cry out that the project is too costly and unnecessarily.
In October, a vote by the Carmel Town Board to bond $24 million to finance the new plant failed to garner a four-vote “supermajority,” as is required for its passing. While a public informational meeting regarding the water plant is scheduled Dec. 11, residents also voiced their dissent at the Nov. 27 board meeting.
Resident John Butler said paying for the new plant will cost households in his district an additional $924 per year, in addition to what they already pay for water usage.
“The debt will be paid by the 1,500 to 1,600 households of Carmel Water District Two – no state money, no federal money, no money from anywhere,” he said. “When and if the bonds are approved for this project, the households will be burdened for the next 30 to 40 years. It’s a generational debt.”
Town Supervisor Michael Cazzari countered that $460,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the county have been dedicated to the project. Further, he said that until a design is completed, a municipality cannot apply for federal funding for a project.
“Congressman (Mike) Lawler is getting us $1.4 million to $1.5 million for the design,” he said. “So there is money flowing in.”
Resident Charlie Cole said the added cost would create a large burden for households, and has been communicated poorly. “You’ve got to think about the people, too, not just about your positions up there,” he said, gesturing to the board dais.
Jennifer Doherty, a member of the Hamlet of Carmel Civic Association, said she appreciates the board’s work, but that people have reason to be angry.
“We found out that you guys needed a supermajority to pass the bond and that it failed by one vote,” she said. “Why are there zero grant proposals out there for this? We have a grant writer on staff.”
Doherty described Lake Gleneida, which supplies Carmel Water District Two, as quite healthy. “We don’t need a Taj Mahal plant – we can do with a Ford,” she said. “We’d really like this to go back to the table and figure out something that’s cheaper for the residents.”
Cazzari noted that the engineers who developed the proposed plant will outline why their design makes sense at the upcoming informational session. As proposed, it would utilize a process called dissolved air flotation to remove impurities from the water. He noted that a DAF system is already in place to filter water from Lake Mahopac for other town residents.
Rob Kearns, the Carmel Town Board member who voted against bonding for the project in October, asked whether any reports or studies have been done involving technologies besides DAF. “Let’s prove this is the system that they (the taxpayers) need to spend their money on,” he said.
Putnam Legislator Greg Ellner, who lives in Carmel Water District Two, said the town never provided a comparison of costs of other potential systems to the public.
“Your request for proposals had an experience clause that required all submitters have at least five references,” he said. “By putting that in your RFP, you have limited the number of respondents, and you’ve basically denied any alternate technologies (from consideration).
“From my knowledge of the county and with engineers, I know that – as of a week ago – no intended-use plan was filed with the state Environmental Facilities Corporation, which is a source of grants and low-cost loans,” continued Ellner. “You do not need a full design to apply for that.”
Cazzari countered that Ellner was being disingenuous. “This town has such a good bond rating that we get a better value by going out and doing bonds (ourselves),” he said, noting that state lending “would cost you, the user, more money.”
Cazzari also said that alternative filtration systems may cost less in the short term, “but you end up with a sludge that’s filled with PFAS that is toxic that we are going to have to spend more money to dispose of.”
PFAS, or “per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,” encompass a wide range of chemicals used in commercial and industrial products that end up in waterways. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration, researchers and partners are still trying to assess ways to manage and dispose of PFAS and how to remove these substances from drinking water.
Peter Gephardt, who lives in the Lake Gleneida neighborhood, questioned the need for a dissolved air flotation system.
“DAF is well suited for water sources that have algae, and from Hazen and Sawyer’s own report they did not find any algae at all in Lake Gleneida,” he said. “It also said PFAS, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), and PFHXA (perfluorohexanoic acid) were not detected in Lake Gleneida.”
Hazen and Sawyer is the New York City-based engineering firm that conducted a water-quality study of Lake Gleneida.
Resident David Keith said that regardless of the technology chosen, the same firm hired to design the plant should be the one that builds it. “Anytime you have somebody design and then somebody else builds, you’re going to have cost overruns,” he said.
The informational meeting and presentation regarding the new water treatment plant is scheduled Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at Carmel Town Hall, 60 McAlpin Ave., Mahopac.