Lewis water, sewer study complete

LOWVILLE — Lewis County officials say a recently completed study of the county's public water and sewer systems should enhance community planning and development.

"The whole point of this exercise is to plan for the future of Lewis County," said Warren S. Rosenthal, the county's economic development director.

Burley-Guminiak & Associates, Canton, in conjunction with O'Brien & Gere of Syracuse and Hydrosource Associates Inc., Ashland, N.H., last month finished a $77,685 study of existing public water and sewer systems and potential new water sources.

The last countywide comprehensive water and sewer studies were conducted in 1972 and 1974, respectively.

Villages and towns may use information and suggestions from the study to better plan for their water and sewer needs and more efficiently administer their systems, said Legislator Richard C. Lucas, R-Barnes Corners, chairman of the legislative Economic Development Committee.

"We're trying to help the communities," he said. "We're certainly not trying to tell them what to do."

The study, presented to legislators last week, suggests that some smaller communities consider sharing contractual services as a way to reduce operational costs. It also recommends interested communities apply for a state High Priority Planning Grant to help fund a shared services study.

In response, the county, the villages of Constableville, Lyons Falls and Port Leyden and the town of Martinsburg have submitted a joint application for up to $50,000 in grant funding.

Burley-Guminiak also recommends that the towns of Denmark, Leyden, West Turin, Turin and Croghan form water districts, since they all have a number of residents that receive water from a village system but don't live within the village. Forming such a district would cost about $6,000 in engineering and legal fees, the study suggests.

While the county's overall population is expected to decline over the next couple decades, there is potential for population growth — and with it, the need for new public water supplies — in the towns of New Bremen, Watson and Lowville, it adds.

A hydrogeological survey, conducted as part of the study, identified 19 zones throughout the county that appear favorable for development of high-yield groundwater sources.

"Many areas of the country have shortages of potable water or water for industrial uses," states an executive summary of the study. "One of Lewis County's strengths is the potential to develop sources of water to meet the needs of companies that require large volumes of processing water."

Identifying those zones will also enable municipalities to protect them from development that could lead to water contamination, Mr. Rosenthal said.

The study showed most of the county's 11 municipal water systems, particularly the one in Harrisville, would have the capacity to add industrial, commercial or residential development.

However, only a few of the nine municipal sewer systems — primarily ones in Lowville, Croghan and Lyons Falls — have the permitted capacity to add much usage, and operational issues in Lyons Falls limit its potential.

The village of Harrisville has been working with Burley-Guminiak over the past few years on possible development of a sewer system. Those efforts have been renewed recently with the possibility of receiving federal stimulus funding, Timothy A. Burley of Burley-Guminiak told legislators.