Keene makes headway with Water District #2 improvements

KEENE | Earlier this month, an insurance claim was approved to install a brand-new control panel for Water District #2. A July storm caused damage to the existing system, which was already outdated, having been in place for 25 years. After running the controls manually for about a month, an emergency temporary system was installed. The town submitted an insurance claim to cover the cost of a new permanent system and received $35,000. Specs are now being reviewed and drawn up by AES Northeast and Water Superintendent Savana Li on how to accommodate the new system in the existing plant adequately. At the time this article was written, Supervisor Joe Pete Wilson said it would be installed sometime within the next few weeks. "This is the basic operating system, so we'll still have some add-ons to do when we add the new well," he clarified. However, affording those upgrades is now a little easier thanks to the insurance claim, which saves the town funds. "That's why we're thrilled that insurance covered it." The new control panel is only one part of the town's Water District #2 Improvement Project, which includes the construction of a new well, the decommissioning of the two existing wells, and other building upgrades. The two existing wells, which date back to the 1990s and are located on Keene Central School grounds, have ceased producing sufficient water for their approximately 230 connections, which include both residential and commercial properties. A new well was drilled down the road in 2019, which kick-started the project. "Ever since then, we've just been relying on that one well," Wilson said. "We've been operating without backup, and you're required to have a backup, according to the Department of Health." Plans are in place to drill either another 12-inch or 16-inch well nearby. To save funds, town employees have already completed some of the preliminary work themselves, including clearing the site of the new well and building a gravel pad. Other upgrades include installing fencing to enhance security, adding water meters, and updating the water treatment building, which was damaged after a tree fell on it last year. The goal is to start drilling by winter 2026 and have the new well online by fall that same year, said Wilson. To complete everything, the town anticipates the total cost to be around $5 million. "There's a lot more that needs to be done, but I don't know if we'll be able to do the entire project because of the cost to the users," Li stated in a previous interview. "We already have the most expensive rates in all of Essex County." The Town of Keene has two water districts, one serving Keene and the other serving Keene Valley. Each resident within these two districts is assessed a flat rate for the calendar year. Residents within Water District #2 are billed $710 per year for water; commercial properties are charged $1,420; and high-traffic properties, such as the school and Keene Valley Neighborhood House, are required to pay $1,685 per year. Properties with extensions, such as a garage, apartment, or shop, are charged an extra $408 per year. An additional debt service charge of $237 is added to all bills to help cover the cost of infrastructure improvements. "As costs increase, that shakes up our priority list and how much we can do before impacting the rates too much," Wilson said. "We're going to figure out where to draw the line and then stop." For more information or updates, visit townofkeeneny.com.

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Keene makes headway with Water District #2 improvements

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