NEW YORK: VILLAGE OF DELANSON
Village Convinces Neighboring Town to Protect
Watershed
Background
Location: Village of Delanson, Schenectady County, NY
Water Supply: Surface water: two reservoirs and a shallow well receiving surface
runoff-all located in the neighboring town
Source Water Assessment: High susceptibility
Residents of the Village of Delanson receive public water from two reservoirs in the
neighboring Town of Duanesburg in Schenectady County, NY. The transmission lines
carrying water between the reservoirs have suffered a few unwelcome incidents over the
years: on one occasion, a septic system was mistakenly installed over the line; on
another occasion, a pond; the line was once accidentally severed during construction at
a development Furthermore, no special attempt had ever been made to provide overall
protection for the watershed areas draining to the two reservoirs and to an infiltration
gallery located between them.
Priority Contamination Threats
Agricultural land cover, a major transportation route, and future development are the
priority contamination threats.
Local Team and Developing the Protection Plan
The mayor, village board, and water operators were part of the local team.
The benign neglect of protecting the two reservoirs and infiltration gallery from
watershed draining began to change after source water specialist Josh Bossard of the
New York Rural Water Association (NYRWA) gave a presentation to village and water
department officials, under an EPA grant to NYRWA.
Management Measures
At the initial meeting, Mr. Bossard conveyed to the attendees the importance of source
water protection from a public health and economic standpoint. He arranged for
subsequent meetings that would include the Town of Duanesburg Supervisor.
Office of Water (4606M) 816F10030 January 2010
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As a result of these meetings, the village has been able to convince the town of the need
to protect the watershed. The town and village are planning to introduce a "drinking
water protection overlay" within which developers will have to minimize impervious
surfaces and facilities storing petroleum products or other toxic substances will be
excluded. Buffer zones of at least 100 feet will be established around the reservoirs and
the waterways feeding them in which development as well as activities such as manure
spreading or storage will not be allowed.
Also, GIS coverage of the transmission line has been incorporated into the digitized tax
maps that are maintained on Schenectady County's web site. Under an agreement
between town and village, any proposed development or new use on a parcel
intersected by the transmission line will now be subject to special scrutiny during site-
plan review.
Contingency Planning
All New York public water systems serving above 3300 people must currently have
emergency response plans that can be used if there are source or distribution
contamination issues. These include alternate sources, interconnections with other
public water systems, use of bottled water, use of water from certified bulk haulers that is
guaranteed to meet drinking water standards, and in some cases, additional treatment is
available. In addition, there are requirements for all public water systems that suffer
broken water mains or find contamination to notify their customers, and to boil water
before use if appropriate. Some water systems have additional contingency plans.
Measuring Program Effectiveness
Below are the protection measures that are outcomes of the meetings and work between
the village and town.
1) Adoption of a "critical drinking water protection overlay" law that prohibits specific
land uses representing potential sources of contamination (expected to be enacted)
2) Overlay of the water transmission line onto the town's parcel coverage in GIS, so that
any proposed changes in land use that might impact the line can be flagged for special
review.
For further information, contact:
Josh Bossard
New York Rural Water Association
(518) 828-3155
bossard@nyruralwater.org
Office of Water (4606M) 816F10030 January 2010
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