The Water’s Fine
We all got our copies of the annual report on Trumansburg’s water quality in the mail yesterday, and all’s well. None of the contaminants that were tested for were at dangerous levels. It cannot be said, then, that Trumansburg needs a second source of water through the proposed Water District 5 because there’s something wrong with the water that we’re already getting.
What about that supposed legal requirement of a second water source for Trumansburg, then? I have to say that I’m disappointed that not one person has even tried to address the challenge I issued a couple days ago, to prove that there actually is any legal obligation at all – a law or a regulation – for Trumansburg to develop another source of water other than what we’ve got.
Given that a legal mandate for Trumansburg is one of the major pillars of the arguments in favor of the perennial push for Water District 5 snaking through the Town of Ulysses, its removal should prove disastrous to the effort. Yet, not even Barry Hayes or the pseudonymic Phylogenes Panglosss have made an attempt to defend this particular item of faith.
Jonathan,
There is no LAW that I am aware of. There are however State Standards required by the Health Department. That was one of the questions I asked during my brief stay on the board. What exactly was the Health Department requiring of us.
On February 23 2007, Mayor Levine received a letter from the Health Department telling the village why they need to look for a second source.
This is a few paragraphs from that letter. Feel free to go to the village office and request a copy. It also includes a calculations chart.
“The Village of Trumansburg water system lacks adequate capacity because it depends on only one well. The Halsey Street tank would be drained in less than 3 days without the supply from the Frontenac Well. The Tompkins County Health Department believes that steps need to be taken to improve the situation. Until a clear plan is developed, the Health Department intends to deny an additional water main extensions to the Village’s water distribution system. We also encourage the Village to not allow any new large services, or especially any services that have a critical need for water”.
“The Standards (Recommended Standards for Waterworks)
also states, section 3.2.1.2 Number of sources “A minimum of two sources of groundwater shall be provided…” The Village has only one”.
When the money was bonded out for the water tower project, this also included money for a generator.
Lightening strikes causing power outages is a real concern. It is my understanding that the board was moving forward with the bids for the generator. However, how long has that tank been up and yet we still have no generator? It is imperative that we have that back up power source. We leave ourselves very vulnerable to a critical water situation without it.
My question is this. If the Village has NO other alternatives to a second water source, what exactly does the Health Department suggest we do about that?
Other than being responsible and making sure that all of our bases are covered to prevent an emergency.
In keeping with the current national political climate, we are shopping around for the stupidest and most expensive plan of action in order to placate a couple of wealthier persons who have entered politics to get their own agendas enacted. Damn the public interest!
Or perhaps we are just trying to stop any development for a couple of fear mongering, antidevelopment fanatics.
This is so akin to the methods of misinformation and perceived outcome that it is scary in its similarity to national politics in getting what a precious few want to have done. So ignorance wins in upstate New York as well as in Washington to the detriment of the majority. Same methods for similar small faction gain. Oh well, Seems That Mr. Austic would have given up long ago in this fight but it just goes on and on.
For what reason? Vote it down. Are you afraid to actually vote it down?
Now we see a new objection Trumansburg doesn’t need a secondary source because there is nothing wrong with the water now. That is as stupid as all the other objections— even stupider from a PLANNING point of view. Why there is such objection to this is beyond comprehension. The impetus seems to be because Doug Austic is supporting it is the only semi-real reason. Other than fear of Levittown development. That will not happen anytime soon until there is adequate population pressure and transportation is vastly improved. There is no population pressure because there is no job market in the area. Cornell is the only employer of consequence and it is a pain to get there from Trumansburg because of poor traffic conditions and planning.
WD5 is a good idea at this time since the park can assist in defraying expenses and the health department has some requirements and there are a few individual families this could benefit and the village and town as a whole stand to benefit greatly from the project. It is an obvious no-brainer in benefit to the entire area.
But a few people keep preventing the true plan to even be publicized and prevent actual knowledge about the proposal and in effect attempt to just stop any progress. They consistently feed the media misinformation and lies or conjecture but never let the truth be made public in terms of sending the plan to the residents concerned. They have never allowed a nonbiased discussion to happen and have actively prevented any clear information being sent to those persons on the proposed district. They only say how it cannot work. Never how can we do this and gain the most benefit from it for the Town of Ulysses and the village of Trumansburg. In fact recently Tyler objected strenuously to Mr. Austic’s letter sent to the village from himself (not the board) suggesting a possible compromise for the loss of village revenue by buying water from the village. Not a bad thought indeed but screamed about by Tyler since she thinks every thought that enters the supervisor’s head needs to be checked and rechecked by the Board.
Now this kind of “thinking†is OK in academia where nothing ever has to be accomplished but in reality or in the real world life goes on and there are opportunities which present themselves from time to time but not continuously.
It is unfortunate that these few have acquired power to delay and without regard to the well being of the town. Similar to Rose Hilbert getting on the village trustee board to enact her own agenda of zoning for her own gain and nothing else. That is not a good reason to be in local government in spite of the national trend toward total selfish disregard for the well being of the country.
If anyone ever allowed Mr. Austic to send out the actual plan to start with this WD5 fiasco would not be happening. And intelligent, productive discussion could be and could have been taking place for the last three or more years instead of this colossal waste of time and energy. Many problems can be addressed and PLANNED for instead of simply saying no nothing will work if it is anything like WD5.
Stupidity, ignorance and spin reign supreme on the national and the local level of politics.
David Filiburto is practicing for his resume on a small country government which won’t matter to him when he graduates and leaves the area to return to Boston or wherever he is from but his decisions regardless how short sighted will remain for a while. Not good government In my opinion.
Why is WD5 so vehemently opposed by these local clowns anyway? Development fear?
Perception that it is Mr. Austic’s and after all he did so much damage to Jacksonville that all this nonsense is warranted. The expansion of water districts is a necessary process for a community to survive. I know JC (Messianic?) doesn’t believe in death yet but he is young and will learn someday that death is the result of no growth, sustainable or otherwise.
WD5 is good concept and now is the time. Why don’t these board members vote against it? Bring a resolution and vote it down now. What seems to be the problem there is an unending source of objections I am sure.
Let’s keep the stupidity in Trumansburg and vote against anything that is good for the area. Even if it is a small step forward and has other factors to defray costs.
Amazing! Bring in the clowns! We have.
Fortunately there is an election coming up and there has been nothing accomplished by the Town board for this entire term. They have succeeded in wasting money on an unnecessary audit which proved they didn’t really need one. and the company which did the audit suggested they do one every year
$15000 ?? Surprise surprise. This firm was hand picked by a board member because they are friends. I think that might be considered conflict of interest at lkeast if not just criminal collusion.
On the national scene it seems so far away that such corruption exists but when it happens on the local level seems surprising. And it is the same thing. Based on lies people object to the WD5 plan. The Iraq war was based on lies and still goes on and still has quite few people confused as to why we are doing that. This water district shows similar “reasoning†on the local level. Crooks and Liars rule.
Marcia,
Thanks for the help, and for a more reasonable voice than the one that follows you.
Here’s my question now. There’s no law that requires a second water source. There’s no regulation that requires a second water source. There is Recommended Standards for Waterworks, which appears to recommend, but not legally mandate. So, doesn’t it seem that the claim that Trumansburg is required to get a full second source of water has shifted to a discussion of whether Trumansburg ought to?
I’m open to discussions of whether Trumansburg ought to get a full second source of water. I don’t think it’s wise, however, for Trumansburg to play along with those who say that Trumansburg has no choice but to develop a second source, and therefore must go along with Water District 5.
We have options, and we ought not to go along with those who want to rush us into a very expensive decision.
Jonathan–
Marcia has described the situation as I understand it. Whether or not you consider the second well that the Village has as back-up to be “not a secondary water source” or “less desireable than other more reliable secondary water sources” is a matter of fine distinctitons in the interpretation of adequacy.
There is no emergency that requires instant thoughtless action. Yes, yes, lightening might strike, there may be a flood or earthquake, we must be prepared, etc., etc. But, in essence, we are being encouraged to believe that there is a real emergency, not just a water system that needs improving, and should not expand before improving.
These fine distinctions of regulatory practice are subject to both local AND COUNTY AND STATE-LEVEL political pressures. The more we know, the more we can tell whose positions are being advanced. Here’s another question I bet you don’t know the answer to: when the T-burg and Bolton Point water systems are linked, does the T-burg system become a “secondary water source” for the entire Bolton Point Water service area?
Please note: I did not say I know the answer, either. Seems important, though, potentially.
I’d like to know more about the basis for your question, Krys. Can you tell us more?
There is not so much more to tell about this, as I don’t know, just wonder. My assumption would be, if there was a connection with the Bolton Point system such that it could act as a “secondary source” in case of emergency, that the agreement would be reciprocal, and, if there was an emergency in the Bolton Point system, the T-burg system would be called on as a secondary source. Sort of the same as the “mutual aid” agreements between fire companies.
I have provided a full citation of the legal requirement for a secondary source as a comment to the May 29 post.
Still no one has allowed mr. Austic to present the plan as it exists to the people who pay for it and that is a crime. There oughta-be-a-law, to coina phrase. The delays are always straw men and do not do any service to the community especially when the Plan as is has never been presented and those Board Members have not allowed it. Why is that?
Then there could be reasonable discussion and not on the basis of hearsay and imagined problems of Levittown forming if water district five is even considered. It has not yet been considered at all because only a few of us know what the plan is. The Three emporers have prevented any truthful discussion and have there by delayed any real action in the hopes that time will run out for the current plan WD5. Why is it so frightening?
Development will not happen as feared. It requires far more infrastructure that is not yet in place.
There are many people within the village that have village water now and are definitely in favor of WD5 because it is good for the entire Town. Not just the three board members and their few cronies.
Filiburto is voted out of officae and then reappointed . Isn’t that alone a little crazy?
Reason has never been a strong point in these arguments and the actual case has never been presented for any rational discussion becasue no one knows what the true plan is.
Amazing, Like the Iraq war justification process. All politics and no information.
Bill,
I don’t see the legal citation on the May 29 post. Could you re-post it?
It may be locked up in the “comment spam” filter, Mary. I’ll go have a look right now.
Yes, that’s where it was. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, everyone, but it’s the only alternative to having to delete hundreds of junk messages about cosmetic surgery, pharmaceuticals on the black market, and such every day.
Thanks for the contribution to the discussion, Bill.
Jonathan,
It turns out, that it is COUNTY law, not state law, that requires second sourcing. I have in my hands the Tompkins county Health Department Sanitary code, which was first adopted in 1972. On page 23 of the document, it states that, “In all public water supplies, except those serving non-residential establishments, where wells, infiltration galleries, and/or springs are the source of the supply, at least two sources shall be developed and available.” This is Article VII, S-7.08, Rule 4.
I notice that it doesn’t say anything at all about the size/volume of that second source, only that there has to be one. Turns out the whole “second source equal to the first source” is just a “recommendation” by the Health Department based on some “study” done somewhere else in the U.S. This must explain why the Village can apply and be granted a waiver on this..it’s not even law. But the requirement for well-based systems to have more than one source is very much a matter of law, of which the Village of Trumansburg is in violation.
One page 1 the Code explains how the county gets the power to do this. NY grants counties the power to form Health Departments that then have the power to make rules and reg’s. These rules and reg’s have the “force and effectof law (2nd paragraph on pg.1).
So there you have it. It is in fact a County Law.
Thanks, Marcia.
I wonder if changes in the NYS requirements to certify a public drinking water source over the years since 1972 have made this old county law a bit out-of-date? I know that the rules have become much more stringent since then. There is now also an interest in limiting access to public water infrastructure, from a terrorism-prevention perspective. Would also be interested in learning how many other counties have this “secondary source” requirement?
Marcia,
The county law is adopted wholesale from the state law.
Tompkins County Health Department is a “full service” county health department in that they have their own environmental health division, which administrates state public health codes.
Some counties, like Yates, Ontario and Wayne, have regional state offices to administrate state environmental health statutes.
One basic premise of law is that local laws can be more restrictive than the next level up, but not less.
While we spend all this time debating the best course of action to safeguard us from the possibility of future water shortages, maybe we should keep in mind that our tax dollars have paid for the destruction of much of Iraq’s infrastructure that used to bring them clean safe water, reliable electricity, sewer systems, and health care. I hope that the village board will soon spend some time passing a resolution for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney, so that we can rectify that wrong.