Rotterdam water meters moving forward at state urging, supervisor says

In 2019, two administrations prior, the town filed a permit—that the Department of Environmental Conservation approved—to increase the amount of water the town could pump. A stipulation in the permit required the town to put in water meters, one of DEC’s regulations for water conservation.

Then-supervisor Mollie Collins said in 2022 that she was against the project, with the town board calling on state officials to enact legislation that would exempt them. Polimeni, who took up the office in January, said the town and state’s work over the last few years on water grants and projects renewed attention on the water meters. Polimeni said the state has sent emails asking, essentially, “What’s the plan?”

In the last month, the town board has created a water meter inspection fee, approved which kind of water meter they plan to use—the Neptune MACH 10 unit—and executed an agreement with KB Engineering to address some of the original report comments. Polimeni said Monday they are currently getting the specifications together on how the water metering will work.

One of their decisions was making sure the water reports go straight to the town office, rather than the system requiring town employees to go out and collect the data, Polimeni said. They are also not going to charge anyone until everyone has water meters, he said, reiterating his statement from the March 11 meeting.

“We don’t plan on actually using them for charging until everybody’s on board. That way everybody’s treated equally,” he said, after comments made from members of the public. “...This is another project that basically we were forced in to.”

They are also working on a plan of which water districts will get the water meters first. There is no installation fee to the town residents making the initial cost zero, he said on March 11. On Monday, Polimeni said they did not know yet what the project will cost the town.

In 2023, Collins said the original estimate from the 2019 plan was $8.6 million but added that she “would be very surprised” if the cost hadn’t at least doubled. The 2019 plan estimated the meters would cost about $250 and installation would be about $100.

Polimeni said Monday they still have a grant that provides $3 million if the town supplies $1 million. If that grant stays in place, he said the project would keep moving forward.

Rotterdam has received several grants in recent years for upgrades to their aged water system. As of January, the town had received $56.5 million in grants and low-cost financing options for water and sewer projects over the last two years. They have also pursued a Water Infrastructure Improvement grant for Rotterdam Junction, but former Deputy Supervisor Jack Dodson said in December that they were still waiting to see if they had won it.

According to the DEC website, water metering is a “prerequisite for other conservation methods” and helps find leaks and facilitate repairs to increase efficiency. Generally, water bills tend to decrease with water meters, as customers are charged for usage and needed repairs and leaks are found quicker, DEC reports. It also said that usage in Kingston and New York City decreased by 20% in both cities when meters were installed.

Polimeni said Monday they don’t have a timeline yet as they work out the details of the project.

“We’re in a spot where we have to comply,” he said at the March 11 meeting.