At the Montgomery Town Board special meeting on April 22, Mary Beth Bianconi, a partner and senior project engineer at Delaware Engineering, D.P.C. presented a comprehensive master plan of the Town of Montgomery’s water and sewer infrastructure. The purpose of her presentation was to provide a proactive evaluation of the water and sewer needs of property owners in the town.

In 2020, the Town of Montgomery commissioned Delaware Engineering to conduct a comprehensive master plan for water and sewer infrastructure. Over the past year they have worked through identifying both short-term and long-term solutions related to water and sewer as well as the impacts on potential future expansion and growth.

“We wanted to thoroughly understand the existing conditions that we had in the water and sewer system because you’re looking at potentially spending some significant dollars to bring your systems up to modern standards to meet your needs and the needs that you have in the future based on your comprehensive plan,” Bianconi said.

In addition, it is important for the town to understand the status of the existing systems in terms of condition, capacity, users, costs, longevity and sustainability. Another key reason for the comprehensive master plan was to ensure that investments funded by users are sound and bring value to the community today and into the future. The town also needs to consider current and future regulatory requirements and leverage existing infrastructure, planned development investments and intermunicipal cooperation. Furthermore, the town needs to address the timing of investments to coincide with the needs of users.

Delaware Engineering, D.P.C. divided the community into two areas: the east and west areas. The west area consists of the existing town water and sewer systems. It is in close proximity to the villages of Montgomery and Maybrook. This area features a commercially developed area of the community with opportunity for infill development. Here there are aging systems with limited excess capacity. There is a need for investment to extend useful life as well as regulatory compliance needs.

There is no public infrastructure for the east area, however there are small-scale private water and sewer systems. The east area includes the Hamlet of Coldenham, which features consumer commercial/retail and residential water and sewer uses. In addition, the east area features the site of the Amazon warehouse, which features a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant and prolific groundwater wells. Substantial power resources are available in this area and a New York City Aqueduct is in close proximity.

In the Town of Montgomery there are four water districts. The Hyndman Heights Water District was created 60 years ago. The source of water for this district is in the Village of Montgomery and serves 14 homes. The district features a two-inch steel water line, which is in questionable condition. In addition, the district’s capacity is approximately 1,300 gallons per day. There is 1,200 linear feet of water main in this district.

The Lake Vue Park Water District has one well which has the capacity to produce 144,000 gallons per day. This district has 49 service connections which use 10,000 gallons per day. This groundwater has manganese in it, which provides an aesthetic concern. The treatment plant at the water district is 60 years old and is in a deteriorated state. There is no storage tank in this water district because it relies on well and booster pumps, which is energy intensive and potentially unreliable. There is 2,600 linear feet of main in this water district.

Water District #1 is the largest water district in the town and serves Hawkins Road, Neelytown West as well as Hudson Crossing with 60 service connections. Two wells are located on Beaver Dam Road. These wells are vulnerable, having a water capacity of 216,000 gallons per day with 75,000 gallons per day being used. There are high chloride concentrations in these wells, which presents an aesthetic concern. In addition, in this water district there is one 323,000 gallon storage tank as well as a 37,000 linear foot water main.

Water District #2B is fire system only. Pond water is the source of the water in this district. 35-year-old diesel pumps and jockey pumps provide pressure. This is energy intensive and potentially unreliable. Leaks are a concern in this water district, as diesel and jockey pumps are labor intensive to operate. There is 5,700 linear feet of water main in this district.

In order to improve water infrastructure, Bianconi suggested the town add wells for capacity and resiliency in addition to the wells on Beaver Dam Road. The town could add the Bruderhoff’s well, which would add approximately 165,600 gallons per day in total capacity. Bianconi also recommended that the town add a storage tank, which could contain 300,000 gallons of water. Lastly, she recommended that the town consolidate and connect Lake Vue Park and Hyndman Heights with Water District #1. She added that the town could connect Water District #2B to Water District #1 to become potable and produce flows for fire.

The Town of Montgomery has three sewer districts, however only two have infrastructure. Sewer District #1 was established in 1976 and originally conveyed wastewater to the Village of Maybrook. In the mid-1990s, Baxter Wastewater Treatment Plant had a system that held 22,000 gallons per day. Currently, approximately 60,000 gallons of water flow in this district each day. Upgrade plans were submitted in 2009 and 2020 to extend the water capacity to 250,000 gallons per day.

Sewer District #2 was established in 1982 and produces about 60,000 gallons per day. The district has a number of problems including aging septic systems.

The town’s wastewater collection lines have deteriorating cement pipes, which cause odors. In addition, the lines have cement pipes that sag, which restrict flows.

There are also problems with the pump stations in the town. There are four pump stations owned and operated by the Town of Montgomery and they function in series, dynamically which limits capacity and requires upgrades in series to increase flows. Individual stations increase peak flows that further restrict capacity.

Also, the town’s treatment plant could be improved, as the H25 chemical in sewage degrades equipment and treatment efficiency in addition to causing odors. High phosphorus from an industrial user increases sludge production and contributes to poor receiving water quality.

Bianconi proposed plans to improve wastewater collection and treatment options. These suggestions included upgrading the capacity of the Wastewater Treatment Plant from 147,500 gallons per day to 250,000 gallons per day. Another idea was for system-wide corrosion control measures as well as pre-treatment to reduce phosphorus.

Intermunicipal cooperation to address long-term sewer demands was also proposed.

Montgomery Town Supervisor Brian Maher elaborated further on the findings of the comprehensive master plan. He noted that the findings revealed that simply increasing capacity at the town’s current wastewater treatment plant might not be as feasible as previous town boards once imagined. The aging collection system has been piecemealed together over the years and could use a comprehensive overhaul, which would cost more than $10 million. This would be on top of the cost of a new wastewater treatment plant, which could cost an additional $10-$15 million.

Over the past year, the town’s actions have created more than 20,000 gallons per day in additional sewer capacity, by making improvements to existing sewer lines. Maher noted that moving forward, the town will exhaust all options in working with its villages to see if they can work together to maximize every taxpayer dollar.

“It doesn’t make sense for all of us to be making multi-million dollar investments when we can sit down and potentially work together to rebuild and potentially expand our water and sewer infrastructure,” Maher said. “The town board will be receiving potential recommendations on moving forward on long-term solutions. The Village of Maybrook and the Town of Montgomery have been discussing for several months opportunities to work together to benefit the Village of Maybrook and Town of Montgomery residents and businesses. We look forward to approaching all villages and even the Valley Central School District to discuss opportunities to work together.”