Water system improvements in the Village of Watkins Glen are underway. According to a message posted on Facebook by Mayor Laurie DeNardo and the village board, these enhancements are “long overdue.”
According to DeNardo, the “Village has broken ground on a number of water upgrades, many of which we are under consent order to repair or upgrade from the department of health. The scope of that project, upwards of $31 million, will be staged. Currently, near the current water plant on Steuben Street, you will note tree removal in preparation of the new water tank.”
The project began in March and is designed to improve water by upgrading how water is collected from Seneca Lake and how it is stored, with the purchase of a new tank. This project is different from the recent work done on the wastewater treatment plant. Expected to take between two and three years to complete, the project will be paid for with grants from New York state.
The bid for the current phase was awarded to McCrossin Construction. According to Terry Wilcox, the village superintendent of public works, this phase involves – among other upgrades – installing filters ahead of the plant on plant property (Steuben Street) as well as upgrading the filters within the plant. In addition, at the lake, the pump house will be retrofitted with new pumping apparatus. This pump house supplies all the water to the plant from Seneca Lake. The intake line will also be replaced and will be positioned farther and deeper in the Lake, which is expected to assist in treatment capabilities.
Staging for this phase is located at the former wastewater plant site, east of the Village Marina.