Ramapo Water Tariff Reaches First Stage

June 25, 2008  The combination of uncontrolled growth in Ramapo and the disingenuous reassurances given to planning boards by United Water have brought us to the first stage of a process that will eventually bring us the most expensive water in the State, if not the country.

It was reported in today's Journal that United Water New York "is preparing to test various water-treatment methods as it seeks to tap the Hudson River to supply Rockland County's homes and businesses." This is the company that over the last years has consistently told planning boards that they would have no trouble providing water for the new residents in any and all new developments, no matter the size. And the size of developments in Ramapo (the fastest growing township in the County) have reached outrageous levels.

Due to recent downzoning, a developer in Monsey can today purchase a lot originally zoned for a single home and build on it a three-family house that also has three accessory apartments. On Patrick Farm (Routes 306 and 202), Supervisor St. Lawrence originally gave the builder, Scenic Development of Brooklyn, Adult Student Housing status (one of his four specially downzoned sites). This week, Ramapo provided the public a look at the future for that corner--about 500 homes (460 of which are three and four bedroom units) for upwards of 4,000 new residents on a single site.

As a result, we have run out of water--in Ramapo and the County. United Water's solution is to draw a new supply from the Hudson River that is both salinated and threatened by legacy pollutants, some of which hold national records for toxicity and cleanup costs (e.g. GE's 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls--PCBs). Ramapo's contribution, at the other end of the county, is to have taxpayers fund a $200 million western Ramapo project that includes a "toilet to tap" processing plant that will return sewage wastewater to the aquifer. The type of technology involved, much hyped by the Supervisor, is characterized by technologists as "the technology of last resort."

What will the end result be for the beleaguered local taxpayers? We pick up the tab, the additional costs for water. We will pay a hefty Ramapo tariff on water in order to subsidize the developers and politicians who have engineered this problem.

And just how expensive will it be? We have so far incurred indebtedness of almost $200 million for St. Lawrence's gift of sewers and a processing plant to developers heading into Western Ramapo. (Check the 14 current projects here.) The cost of the water pumped out of the Hudson will be very expensive because the processing is very energy intensive. Ironically, today, as United Water discusses the test plant in Garnerville, the Federal Information Administration published its forecast for future energy demands and costs, estimating, "Global energy demands will grow by 50% over the next two decades." The supply-and-demand upward pressure on fuels is not going to improve any time soon.

And for how long will this Ramapo tariff on water be collected? For the rest of our lives and those of our children, that is, if they are able to afford to remain living here. It's just part of the grim legacy of the current, self-serving Ramapo administration.

Michael Castelluccio

The Journal News Article, "United Water moves to build testing facility on Hudson River's shore in Haverstraw," can be read here.