TOWN OF JOHNSTOWN — The Johnstown Town Board is considering support for two proposed projects to expand municipal water service from Gloversville into the hamlet of Meco and along State Route 349.
Gloversville Water Superintendent Anthony Mendetta explained the proposed projects to the board during its Nov. 21 meeting. Mendetta also thanked the board for its past and possibly future support of water service expansion in the town and explained why Gloversville has more than enough water to increase service.
“We greatly appreciate your continued support in expanding a very underutilized distribution system which over the years has seen a significant decline in water usage as industry and manufacturing has declined in the city of Gloversville,” Mendetta said. “Our filtration plant was built in 1939 and designed to put out 12 million gallons of water per day. Today, we are currently putting out an average of 1.2 to 1.5 million gallons a day. I feel that it is very important to have good working relationships with the county and towns that surround the city to bring much needed resources from the city to the outskirts that do not already have them.”
Mendetta provided summaries of both proposed water projects:
• Meco service expansion from Route 29A to County Highway 122 and down West Fulton Street Extension to the city line: He said currently this area is serviced by private well water and past water samples in the area have tested positive for both E coli and Coliform bacteria. “Another key point while thinking about this project would be the need for fire hydrants for fire protection in this area. Right now, there is only one water source in this area, and it’s located from a man-made pond at the MECO Volunteer Fire Company’s firehouse. As a volunteer fireman with the Pleasant Square Fire Company for more than 17 years, I can tell you that the process of drafting when there is a fire is very time and labor intensive when minutes can mean the difference between the loss of life or property.”
Mendetta also told the board that currently West Fulton Street to the Gloversville city line is serviced by only a 4-inch dead ended water main. He said an engineering study would need to be done to determine the proper size pipe upgrade needed to support the expansion.
“My guess would be a 12-inch main would need to be upgraded and tied into the existing 12-inch water main near the intersection of West Fulton Street and Spring Avenue,” he said. “If this project were to take place, we would also be able to look at a potential third interconnection with the City of Johnstown near the intersection of County Highway 122 and West Fulton Street Extension, which could help supply more water to the City of Johnstown in case it’s needed and also expand the use of the current fire hydrants that also service parts of the Meco fire district in that area that are currently out of service due to the lack of pressure required by NYS (Dept. of Health) to have them in service.”
Mendetta said currently the Meco upgrades need to be discussed between the Gloversville Water Board and the town as well as looking at future state funded grants to pay for the upgrades.
“Without these upgrades being done, this expansion of the water system would not meet the standards of NYSDOH and it would also not hydraulically make sense,” he said.
• State Route 349 up to Barker Road: Mendetta said this area of the Town of Johnstown has the same E coli bacteria problems as Meco, and does not currently have fire protection, other than tapping into the existing fire hydrants at the old Universal Warehouse building and tanker shuttling water to the location of the fire. “Having access to fire hydrants in this area would help the Pleasant Square Volunteer Fire Company operate more quickly and efficiently. With this project, the supporting infrastructure within the city is already in place as there is a 12-inch main that currently services the old Hussmann and Universal Warehouse building which would support the needed volume and pressure to expand water into the area.”
Mendetta said “looping in” the new proposed water line from Barker Road to the existing water line on Elmwood Avenue Extension would help to improve the current service area around the old landfill on Route 29A which loops around Bemis Road, Blanchard Road, and Elmwood Ave Extension. He said he believes the project would improve “usage and low chlorine residuals in the summertime” from the water currently supplied to that area from the 200,000-gallon elevated water tower located at the Berkshire landfill site.
Johnstown Town Supervisor Jack Wilson said the town currently has about $349,000 left over from its U.S. American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) federal grant, after spending about $800,000 of the ARPA grant for a town project to extend water service from Gloversville to town hall and additional town residents on Route 29.
“That is more than enough money to meet the engineering costs and would cover some of the construction costs for the Route 349 expansion project,” Wilson said. “Running it out to Meco is definitely a worthwhile project, but it is a way bigger project than Route 349.”
While the Town Board took no formal action on the two water expansion project ideas on Nov. 21, the consensus of the board agreed to continue discussing the issue and exploring additional funding sources to pay for the projects.
Town Board member Tim Rizzo said he believes the board will back both water expansions. He said he still has questions about the Meco expansion, but he agrees with Wilson that spending the remaining ARPA money to support the water service expansion concepts is a good idea.
“We made an oath to spend that money on infrastructure, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Rizzo said.
