Oh, That Water Master Plan

Water-plan foes make case
Say county could force municipalities to connect
By Chris Mckenna
Times Herald-Record
HIGHLAND MILLS —

Could Orange County force municipalities to connect their water systems if they don't want to?

Three people who believe it could made their case to local officials at the Woodbury firehouse Thursday night, the latest rumblings of opposition to a proposed plan for the county's public water supplies.

The part attracting criticism is a recommendation for 19 intermunicipal pipe connections, which are intended to let well-supplied towns sell water to needier neighbors and steer development to areas the county has marked for growth.

The county Water Authority, which developed the plan, insists these links would be strictly voluntary, and says it will help any communities that want to build them.

But critics fear the authority could push forward without consent.

On Thursday, three opponents who studied the plan and its supporting documents laid out their findings in a PowerPoint presentation to 11 invited officials from the eastern part of the county.

They argue the authority could seize local water systems through eminent domain and tax the whole county for its costs, using a countywide water district created years ago but never used.

They also claim some wording in the documents betrays a forceful intent.

"The Legislature has no control over this authority," said Sheila Conroy, a Woodbury Planning Board member and former town supervisor. "It's only answerable to the executive branch of government."

Conroy gave the talk with Jonathan Swiller, leader of the OCEAN citizens' group; and Robert Fromaget, a Blooming Grove resident and county Legislature candidate.

Authority leaders responded Friday by repeating the pipe links are merely suggestions and wouldn't be forced on anyone.

"The authority is there for the purpose of trying to facilitate the interconnections so that everybody has a sufficient supply of potable water," said Marcia Jacobowitz, chairwoman of the five-member authority board. "This is not something that would be mandatory."

County Planning Commissioner David Church, who serves as executive director of the authority, said the notion of seizing water systems through eminent domain is "so far-fetched I never asked anybody if we could."

He emphasized that the authority can amend its proposal in response to public input. For instance, it could consider stating that no connections would be forced through eminent domain, Church said.

It's already reconsidering some population projections that Fromaget questioned.

"We're professional and humble enough to admit that if we're wrong, we'll correct it," Church said.

cmckenna@th-record.com



Pipe connections
The Orange County Water Authority has suggested connecting local water systems in 19 places as part of an overall plan for meeting water needs as the county population grows.


The most immediate connections it suggested are:


• Town of Wallkill and Village of Goshen


• Middletown and the Town of Wallkill


• Villages of Kiryas Joel and Monroe


• Villages of Monroe and Harriman


• West Point and Highland Falls


• Washingtonville and Cornwall-on-Hudson


• New Windsor and the City of Newburgh


To read the full report, go to: http://waterauthority.orangecountygov.com/

The Pieman Predicts

The Pieman is usually quite plain-spoken; however UB World Headquarters, nestled away in the swamps of Woodbury Falls, has now received the following rather cryptic email:

Unc,

As important as Woodbury Town Election, the KJ Pipeline and all the other things that we have been focused on are, they are small potatoes compared to the Orange County Water Master Plan.

This is the big one and it can have profound negative effects on all of Orange County. I'll have a lot more for you within a week or so.

Swiller