Solve water issues regionally
Editorial, Poughkeepsie Journal Sunday, January 9, 2004

Once again, Dutchess County has ridden to the rescue of a neighborhood's troubled water and wastewater systems. Considering the onrushing pace of development, local and county officials should work harder to avoid such problems in the first place.

Mid-Hudson Valley towns usually have the final say on all developments. But they don't always have staff members with experience in anticipating water quality issues. The county planning department does have such experts, and the county Legislature should give them the authority to look into these issues.

The problem Dutchess had to solve this time was the cost of drinking water. Many residents of Beekman's Dalton Farms development were stunned when the system's private operator proposed a 52 percent rate increase two years ago. But prices should remain stable, now that the Dutchess County Water and Wastewater Authority has bought the systems for $3.85 million. As a nonprofit quasi-governmental corporation, the authority is not taxed and doesn't need to make a profit. Thus, it can operate the Dalton Farms system at a lower cost.

More often, the issue isn't the price of tap water but its quality, or whether enough is available. Concerns like these have prompted the authority, in recent years, to take over local utilities not only in Beekman but also in Dover, Hyde Park, Pleasant Valley, Rhinebeck and Red Hook.

Require checks on new development

The county Department of Health typically looks at subdivision proposals, making sure there's enough water for each development, and that it's safe. But nobody regularly checks whether a new development might cause water shortages or a drop in quality in nearby neighborhoods.

County lawmakers should pass a law requiring all subdivision proposals submitted to the Department of Health to also be reviewed by county planners, to see if there might be any ramifications for other homes in the area. Municipal leaders could then do with the results what they wish -- but at least they wouldn't be able to say they couldn't get the information.

A major pipeline to be built from Poughkeepsie to East Fishkill ought to help prevent similar situations in southern Dutchess, at least. IBM, which will be the pipeline's major customer, is planning on using millions of gallons of water a day when its expanded microchip manufacturing facilities come on line. But growing towns along the way could also tap in to this abundant source, easing their dependence on groundwater -- or, at the least, look to the conduit as an important backup when local wells dry up or suffer from serious contamination.

Rather than waiting for problems to develop before stepping in, Dutchess County could foster policies aimed at making them less likely.

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