RENSSELAERVILLE — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and other state agencies will be working with Rensselaerville to fix the town’s ongoing water problems.

Rensselaerville’s decades-old water system has been struggling to maintain levels of the disinfection byproducts, namely trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and HAA5, which is a group of five haloacetic acids.

The water and sewer advisory committee has resolved that the system likely needs a drastic overhaul and is working with the engineering firm C.T. Male to develop a report that it will then use to secure funding for what is likely to be a seven-figure project. 

The DEC announced that Rensselaerville was one of 39 communities in the state that will receive free technical assistance from the state departments of health, state, and agriculture as well as the DEC as part of a wider push toward cleaner water in New York State. 

Bethlehem, Ravena, and Watervliet were also named in the list published by the DEC in a release. 

The aim of the free assistance program is to help municipalities develop a water source protection plan that addresses contamination sources and provides a cost analysis for implementing the plan, as well as identifies funding and potential partners, while laying out a timetable for the project overall, according to the DEC’s website. 

Rensselaerville Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Chairman Ed Csukas told The Enterprise that the town received this benefit through the efforts of Jerrine Corrado, of Sustainable Growth, and one other committee member. They did not provide more information before publication.

A press release from the committee notes that it is putting together a “local stakeholder” group and that those interested in joining can email rvillewatersewer@gmail.com for more information.