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OCWA To Offer Water To Towns |
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Monday, September 17, 2001 A planned Onondaga County Water Authority project recently
dropped the opportunity for public water into the laps of three towns near
Otisco Lake. As early as this fall, OCWA will begin $900,000 in upgrades to its water system between Otisco Lake and a water treatment plant on Lee-Mulroy Road, Marcellus. That project creates an opportunity for additional waterlines extending to property owners in parts of Otisco, Marcellus and Spafford - including some camps along Otisco Lake. Residents of the towns must decide whether they want public water enough to spend money on a water system. A meeting to give Otisco property owners information about the project will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Amber Fire Station on Amber Road. The Otisco district, if approved, could include residents of Otisco Valley Road from the Marcellus line to the causeway, and Amber Road between Otisco Lake and Kenyon Road. "This is nothing more than an informational meeting," Otisco Councilor George Cook said. Other parts of Otisco, especially Patterson Road, need the water more, but running water uphill from the lake would cost too much, Cook said. If there is enough interest, residents later may be asked to decide whether they want the water district, he said. To form a water district, at least 51 percent of residents in the proposed district must approve. Also, owners of property amounting to 51 percent of the assessed valuation of the proposed district must approve. Residents of a district aren't required to hook up but must share the cost of construction, which is often hundreds of dollars per year. Marcellus Supervisor Frank Wilson said the town will canvass residents after he meets with Spafford and Otisco supervisors, and OCWA officials Thursday. The meeting will give town officials a better idea of how much it would cost to install a water system, he said. "At that point, we should have a better sense if Otisco will participate," he said. Otisco has the greatest number of properties that could participate, Wilson said. Cook said he did not know how many properties could be involved. The cost per property would be lower if more residents want water districts, Wilson said. In Spafford, the water district would primarily affect 82 customers who currently get spring water through a private company with its own pipe system, Supervisor Gordon Ireland said. The waterline could run down Route 174 from the Marcellus line to Olanco and Glen Cove roads. The pipes on the current system are aging, and the customers must decide whether they want to upgrade the system or receive public water, said Ken Lieberman, a Spafford zoning board member who is also on the water company's board of directors. "Personally, I'd like it to pass. You'd get fire hydrants and fluoridation" with public water, he said. The OCWA project, currently in the design phase, will go ahead with or without participation by the three towns, said Anthony Geiss Jr., OCWA's deputy director and chief engineer. In anticipation of stricter water-quality regulations, OCWA wants to change the kinds of chemicals added to water at the lakeshore, where water is currently chlorinated, Geiss said. The new chemicals are part of a system wide upgrade, but will discolor the water for 15 customers between the lake and the treatment plant at Lee-Mulroy and Lawrence roads. "The first users would end up with pink water," Geiss said, alluding to potassium permanganate, an oxidizing chemical that causes temporary discoloration. Because OCWA has a legal obligation to provide those customers with drinkable water, a waterline will be built south from the plant along Route 174 to Coon Hill Road. As many as 40 additional property owners on that section of line have the opportunity to connect to the pipe, for a connection fee and a water main extension fee that have not been set, Geiss said. From Coon Hill Road, Marcellus property owners along Route 174 and Otisco Valley Road could form a water district that stops at the town line. © 2001 The Syracuse Newspapers. Used with permission. Submitted to the Borodino Bullett by Ken Leiberman. |
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