Torrey water project gets underway

TORREY--The town of Torrey is making progress on its first-ever water district designed to serve approximately 40 households. The project, according to Town Supervisor Peter Martini, has been in the works for about 20 years. The proposed district will be on the northern edge of the Town of Torrey and will provide the designated households with municipal water.
"Water is tight in that area," said Martini. "There aren't a lot of great wells and systems to make the water potable are often expensive."
The establishment of this water district is being done in partnership with the USDA Rural Development, whose investment will be used to pay for additional costs incurred with the construction of the Water District Number 1 project. According to information provided by the USDA, the total project costs are $2.4 million, with $400,000 in rural development direct loan funds, $324,000 in rural development grant funds, $892,000 in previously funded rural development direct loan funds, $684,000 in previously funded rural development grant funds, $96,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARRA) grant funds, and $4,000 in a previous applicant contribution.
Nardozzi Construction won the bid in a competitive process and began construction in February. A groundbreaking was held on March 21, to officially kick off the project. Currently, contractors are laying pipe with the goal of having the main line done and tested by June. Once this step is complete, Martini said the next step is to have people start hooking their properties to the main line. Making that connection is done at the owner's expense.
Martini said that the Town of Torrey is short on infrastructure to deal with water districts, which is why the town has contracted with the Town of Benton to handle billing and maintenance. Martini expects that repairs will be jointly handled by the Town of Benton and Torrey's highway department. This arrangement ensured that the Town of Torrey did not have to hire additional personnel to manage the water district.
"When we invest in rural infrastructure, we invest in the livelihoods and health of people in rural America," said Brian Murray, state director for USDA Rural Development in New York. "Under the leadership of President Biden and Secretary Vilsack, USDA is committed to Building a Better America by investing in America's rural infrastructure. Investments like these in the Town of Torrey - as they build out Water District #1 - will drive the creation of good-paying jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably so that everyone gets ahead for decades to come."