By Lauren Young

Staff Writer

The town boards of both Cazenovia and Nelson last week approved the formation of a new water district that will serve 45 properties along Route 20. The approval is another step in the proposed project to bring a municipal water line three miles up the road from Cazenovia into Nelson.

The Cazenovia town board approved the new water district at its Jan. 8 meeting, while the Nelson board approved it at their Jan. 11 meeting. Both boards held public hearings before taking a vote.

The water line extension project is a cooperative endeavor between the towns of Nelson and Cazenovia and the village of Cazenovia to extend municipal water farther up Route 20, connect to more residential and business properties, improve quality of life and spur economic development.

The $2.85 million project, to be financed for 30 years, has received two grants totaling $1.8 million from the EFC and Northern Borders commission.

When the water district formation proposed, it was conditional on the premise that the water line project would not be started unless enough grant money could be obtained to allow a tax rate of less than $3.55 per every $1,000 of assessed value, said project engineer John Dunkle, of Dunn & Sgromo,

“The $1.8 million allows us to get below that threshold so that we can move the project forward,” Dunkle said. The project is currently seeking to lower the rate from $3.55 to $3.10.

The estimated cost for typical residential use is currently set at around $430 a year, and Cazenovia is contracted to operate the system and set the usage rates. The costs of the project will be funded by participating property owners, and costs will be divided based on assessed value per property.

“Over time, theoretically, costs should go down for each property,” said Dunkle.

Because this project can only fund work in the public right-of-ways, work will not be able to be done on private properties. “This project will put the water main in, and we’ll put water services in to the edge of the highway right-of-ways, and then it’ll be each individual property owner’s responsibility to make that connection privately,” said Dunkle. Costs will additionally depend on personal plumbing structure and how far away one’s property is from the right-of-way. However, every property on Route 20 will have access to the line, no matter what side of the road their property is on.

“Everyone that benefits from this project is required to pay the service, but not required to hook up,” said Dunkle.

The source of water will come from Village of Cazenovia’s well field on Water Drive. “The village has installed a fourth well, in some respects, to help support this expansion,” said Dunkle. “There will definitely be plenty of water.”

The first proposal planned to run the water line down the median of the highway, but after consulting with the Department of Transportation, it was advised to place the line along one side of the highway.

“This was done on a much smaller scale in Erieville,” said Nelson town Supervisor Roger Bradstreet, referencing the current Erieville water district that serves about 150 residents. However, this project is planned to be a much larger process than the Erieville district.

Construction on the water line is anticipated for spring 2019 and planned completion is expected by fall 2019.