NEW SCOTLAND — Due to a need for infrastructure repair after dealing with numerous water-main breaks in the past year, the town of Bethlehem and the village of Voorheesville have considered, if not already implemented, water-rate increases. New Scotland could see an even greater rate increase since the town receives water from both municipalities.

The news comes around the same time that New York State announced $662.9 million in grants and loans for water infrastructure, including for projects in the town of Ballston and the city of Schenectady.

In December, President Barack Obama signed into law the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, parts of which incorporated Congressman Paul Tonko’s Assistance, Quality, and Affordability Act.

“It’s pretty holistic,” Tonko said of the law. He noted that it includes a range of provisions, from replacing pipes to adopting new technology.

One provision of the law offers an opportunity for small, disadvantaged communities that can’t take on low-interest loans in order to repair their water systems to get state grants.

Those considered to be disadvantaged communities are eligible to receive money from their state, which can receive grants or loans through the State Revolving Fund; $300 million will be provided over six years, said Tonko.

“I want to encourage communities in the Capital Region to apply for this opportunity,” he said.

With Bethlehem’s increase of water and sewer rates, and a consideration for gradually increased water rates by Voorheesville, New Scotland has held off increases to its own rates for two of its water districts. Both Voorheesville and Bethlehem have considered rate increases due to a need for infrastructure repair after seeing a number of water-main breaks.

On Jan. 11, the Bethlehem Town Board approved a 1.5-percent increase to water rates and a 3-percent increase to sewer rates. Out-of-district rates, such as for New Scotland, are twice as high. Voorheesville does the same.

Bethlehem Commissioner of Public Works George Kansas said the increase in water rates is due to an increase in costs of maintaining infrastructure. Kansas told The Enterprise that Bethlehem has had numerous water-main breaks, and there are projected expenses for repairs and upkeep. The town’s water distribution system was founded in 1927.

Both New Scotland and Bethlehem charge at an increasing block rate, in which higher usage is charged a higher rate. From usage of 501 to 5,000 cubic feet, or about 3,747 to 37,400 gallons, residents will be charged $4.49 for every 100 cubic feet used, or $5.62 for every 1,000 gallons, for 2017.

Kansas said the reason out-of-district homes are billed twice as much is because in-district residents pay a water service tax based off their property value.

“They are paying that and the water usage fees,” he said.

New Scotland’s water districts

The New Scotland Town Board had prepared a proposal for water-rate increases in the Heldervale and Feura Bush districts at a meeting last Wednesday, but the proposal was tabled with news that both the village of Voorheesville and the town of Bethlehem were considering water-rate increases.

Supervisor Douglas LaGrange told The Enterprise last week that the village was scheduled to have a public meeting on the matter that night. Bethlehem’s town board also held a meeting that night.

LaGrange said the two districts had to have rate increases due to their negative fund balance; the districts had borrowed money from town funds. Both receive water from Bethlehem.

“We definitely had to raise two of our districts just a little bit,” he said.

The town had been looking to increase the Feura Bush water district rate for 0 to 15,000 gallons from $10 to $11 for every 1,000 gallons, and the Heldervale district from $15 to $15.50 for every 1,000 gallons. Because New Scotland residents are charged twice as much as Bethlehem’s, they face a 3-percent increase for Bethlehem’s 1.5-percent increase. LaGrange estimates a $1 increase for Heldervale and $1.35 for Feura Bush with these changes in mind. The changes would affect the July billing, he said.

There are eight water districts in New Scotland. Like Heldervale and Feura Bush, the Font Grove, Swift Road, and New Salem districts are provided with water from Bethlehem. Voorheesville provides water to the Colonie Country Club water district, as well as to homes on Maple Avenue toward New Salem — these homes are billed directly by the village. The Clarksville and Northeast water districts have their own wells; the Clarksville district has wells located between Feura Bush and Clarksville, and the Northeast district has wells behind Apple Blossom Lane.

Voorheesville’s plans for its water

Last Wednesday, the village of Voorheesville held a workshop meeting, which primarily involved a discussion on water rates.

Voorheesville Mayor Robert Conway told The Enterprise in December that expenses had increased so much that rates are barely covering them. Last week, Conway told The Enterprise that the village government has had further discussions on increasing rates, but no decision has been made.

Part of the expenses will include drilling three new wells. Conway said drilling should begin next week; one location for drilling is at the corner of Dommorro Drive and Altamont-Voorheesville Road, across from the Voorheesville firehouse; another location is behind Quail Run; and a third will be near New Salem by the water treatment plant owned by the town of Bethlehem.

The village currently uses three wells, two on Grove Street and one on Pine Street, locations not far from the rail line that runs through Voorheesville. Conway said the three wells that are to be drilled would serve as secondary water sources in case something happened to the other wells.

The only other potential source of water for the village is a municipal interconnect with the town of Guilderland so that water may be exchanged in an emergency, said Conway. The village used it to supply Guilderland with water after a water main break in Albany last summer cut off its supply to the town, he said.

Conway said that the construction of the wells will not impact water rates, but rather rates may be driven up by future efforts to repair and replace infrastructure. He said, within the next three to five years, the village will begin replacing water meters in homes, which are about 10 years old. Conway also said the village is planning on mapping its water lines in order to better respond to breaks. The village had a water main-break in August and a series of three water line breaks in October.

Part of Voorheesville’s system is 90 years old, the mayor said, although the breaks were in a newer portion.

Water rates are graduated and depend on usage, but Conway said the average is around $250 a year per household.

“Hidden infrastructure” in disrepair

Tonko said water and water infrastructure is more important than people may realize. Water is used in industries and businesses as well as in homes, but the infrastructure is aging.

“We’ve ignored what I call our hidden infrastructure,” he said. “In some places we have 145-year-old pipes in this given congressional district.”

Tonko came through the village of Altamont two years ago on what he called a “Water Infrastructure Tour,” trying to highlight both aging infrastructure and aging water managers — he said the average age was 56 and they had great institutional knowledge than needed to be cultivated for the next generation.

As the top Democrat on the Environmental and Economic Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, he has pushed for a solution to infrastructure problems.

Tonko said this week that engineers have found it’s 10 times cheaper to repair old pipes before they break. These pipes shouldn’t be “out of sight, out of mind,” he said.

“There’s a lot of work to be done,” he said.