RENSSELAERVILLE — Rensselaerville’s curse may turn out to be a gift as the town seeks much-needed funding to upgrade its roughly 80-year-old water system. New grants for water infrastructure improvement classify towns like Rensselaerville that exceed the usual income requirements as underserved based on their history of violations. 

Speaking before the town board on Sept. 28, Rensselaerville Water and Sewer Advisory Committee Chairman Ed Csukas addressed two recent problems with the system — a water-main break and quality violations — as part of a larger update on the committee’s progress in fixing the system, which has been posing problems in recent years.

The break occurred on Saturday night, he said, adding, “Just days before … the [Albany County] Department of Health learned of testing we do on a regular basis, where there were exceedances of two limits which we can’t go over; otherwise the water could be unsafe to drink.”

According to county spokeswoman Mary Rozak, the violating chemicals were total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acid 5 (HAA5), both disinfection byproducts that the town has struggled with in the past.

“Testing results from August 2022 to August 2023 show that our system exceeds the standard, or maximum contaminant level (MCL), for the long term running annual average (LRAA) for TTHM and HAA5,” reads a notice created by the town for residents. 

The standard for TTHM is 80 micrograms per liter or less and for HAA5 is 60 micrograms per liter or less, the notice said. Averaging 12 months of Rensselaerville water samples showed TTHM at 62.3 and HAA5 at 69.8 micrograms per liter, meaning TTHM was well under the threshold while HAA5 was over.

Sample results from Aug. 2, 2023, the notice to residents said, showed both chemicals over the threshold: TTHM was at 104 and HAA5 was at 83.4 micrograms per liter.

Their presence does not constitute an emergency, and precautions such as water boiling were not required, the town notice said.  

“This is not an uncommon violation for water systems that use and treat surface water that contain organic matter,” Rozak told The Enterprise.

By the time of the board meeting on Sept. 28, both the pipe and the quality of the water were restored, Csukas said.

“This is the kind of thing we need to get away from by upgrading the water system,” he said. “And, frankly, it’s good timing in getting those warnings [from the Department of Health] because they could actually be helpful when we apply for those grants, to point out that our system is in sore need of an upgrade.”

Next steps

Csukas explained to the board that getting grants requires the town to make an effective sales pitch to whomever is administering the grant, making sure they know the proposal is sound and will be an effective use of the money. 

“It’s a very big process here in New York state,” he said. “You go through all sorts of processes in order to get in line in order to get into a position to actually apply for a grant.”

One of those steps is getting community buy-in. Jerrine Corallo, of Sustainable Growth, a group that’s consulting for the water committee, told the board that “95 percent” of the feedback the committee has received from the community following its outreach efforts, which included an informational session similar to the one given to the town board on Sept. 28, has been “very positive.”

“Even the folks that have shared challenges … they were willing to come and look for consensus,” she said.

The committee is also making a request for proposals, Csukas and Corallo said, for firms that can develop a study of the water system, and then create a plan.

“This is only a small piece of what needs to happen,” Csukas said. The next step, he said, is to get onto the Intended Use Plan for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which lays out how state funds will be used in a particular time frame. He said the deadline to make the list is June 2024.

“There are multiple other agencies we can submit grants to,” Csukas said. “It’s amazing. They all operate independently. They don’t talk to each other, but they all have grant money and will provide grants to various water systems, but under very specific criteria. So, if we can’t get enough grant money from one, we’re certainly going to apply to others.”

If all goes according to plan, Csukas said, the town could be ready to begin construction in 2025.

“That’s how long of a process this is,” he said. “Had we known any better, we might have started a while ago, but this is where we are.” 

Corallo, of Sustainable Growth, reiterated to the board that the recent problems will help move that process along.

“Historically, it’s been difficult for places like Renssealerville — you know, rural communities that maybe are a little bit higher income — to get funds and get assistance to [improve] a small district,” she said. “But how they’re kind of getting around that now is by saying you could be considered underserved if you are repeatedly having violations.”

EPA program

Since Rensselaerville has a history of violations, Corallo said, the town is eligible for newly announced federal funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Program as an underserved community. 

Besides the town being eligible to apply, Corallo said that a number of things stood out about the grant, including that the EPA program funds water-conservation projects such as replacing water meters, which the town has been looking into already.

The project would cost around $300,000, Corallo said, while applications for the grant money can ask for up to $570,000. 

“So, we could apply for the water meters,” she said. “And in addition, we can apply for some money for emergency planning … This funding source in particular is looking for communities to examine future hazards, so exactly the types of things we need to be thinking about.”

Csukas and Corallo had both said that the recent incidents highlighted the need for a robust emergency system in the town. 

The grant also does not require a matching portion, Corallo said, explaining  that that’s somewhat unusual for infrastructure funding. 

“The challenge is that the grant is due Nov. 6 of this year,” she said. She wanted to know, before going ahead with the application, if the town wants to pursue it.

Deputy Supervisor Brian Wood explained that the water committee, although it’s technically overseen by the town board, is free to do what it thinks is necessary for the district, since the district is essentially self-governing. 

“We’re going to support you no matter what you do,” he said. “I don’t think you ever have to come here and ask us if we’ll support you. There’s a board, and the folks in the water district pick the people on the board, and you know what you can and cannot do.”

Wood said that the town board doesn’t “want to be in the water business,” and that the water committee should “move freely” to solve problems.

“If you can get us grant money, I don’t care if it’s $10 and we’ve got to match it with a buck,” he said. “If it helps, it helps. If you need a signature, [Supervisor John Dolce] will sign it. If John’s not here, I’ll sign it, and we’ll get it done.”

He pointed out that grants can be turned down once they’re offered so, if a grant requires a matching portion of town money that the town doesn’t have, the conversation can be had without anyone’s hands being tied.

“It’s really is just a sales pitch on your behalf about how you’re going to pay the bond back,” Wood said. “As long as you can say, ‘We’re going to pay it back,’ I’m in. If you say, ‘Hey, we need money from general funds to pay the bond because we don’t have any money,’ we’re probably going to be, like, you can’t do that, so you’ve got to say no.”