Water-system leak found and stopped

Thursday, October 31, 2013 - 18:48

The Enterprise — Marcello Iaia

Lake Myosotis, the source for the Rensselaerville hamlet water system, is still on a warm fall day at the end of September.

RENSSELAERVILLE — A water leak outside of an unoccupied seasonal home was identified and shut off earlier this month, stabilizing a demand on the Rensselaerville hamlet water system that outpaced its filter.

“All the water was being filtered, including the water that was leaking away. It was about 50 percent more than anticipated,” said Thomas Delp, the water and sewer committee chairman. “So it was a big leak.”

About 80 homes and businesses are served by the system in the hamlet, which, Delp noted, has no consumer meters.

Douglas Story, the system’s operator, noticed the demand on the system and said at the September town board meeting that he suspected it could be caused by a leak in the storage tank.

The water to the house has since been shut off at the curb, Delp said, and no other significant leaks have been found. Repair of the leak is the responsibility of the customer, said Jack Long, a committee member.

“It was isolated by closing valves, and then we realized in what zone it was in,” said Delp. “And the final detection of where the leak was was done with a listening device.” 

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