Water Wenks

This opinion piece appeared in the Townsman, June 26 2008 edition

Before people who live in and pay for the Woodstock Water District (“The District”) go flocking to the altar to George (“Jerry”) Washington erected by simpering Councilman Jay Wenk, who could not be more thankful for having his responsibility discharged by someone else, first let me confuse the Washington/Wenk report on buried oil tanks with facts.

The built-up area in Woodstock is served by an independent water system built in 1950, and extended several times (most recently in 1998). The total length of the 6" and 8" pipelines is approximately 8.25 miles. The District is served by seven drilled wells located near the Saw Kill Stream in Bearsville, with an average depth between 10-15 feet. The wells are plumbed through two pump houses and then into three storage tanks (stand pipes) with a total capacity of 1.3 million gallons. The District provides metered water to 732 hook-ups serving a population estimated at 2,400 people. In 2006 the District’s average daily demand was approximately 131,000 gallons. The highest volume pumped in one day in 2006 was 320,000 gallons. The total volume of water pumped in 2006 was 47,862,000 gallons, of which 43,518,702 gallons was billed to customers, leaving a total of 4,343,298 gallons of water (9.1%) lost through leaks, flushing tanks and hydrants, fighting fires and draining stand pipes.

The District draws its water from a groundwater source stored below the surface in porous rocks called an “aquifer.” The groundwater, as in this case, can be purified naturally as it filters through layers of soil, clay, rock and sand. As a result, groundwater requires less treatment than surface water (like City of Kingston’s Cooper Lake Reservoir, for instance, which requires expensive filtration). The water is disinfected with chlorine in the form of hypochlorite, and the pH is adjusted with sodium carbonate for corrosion control. Reports dated as recently as 2006 indicate that the municipal water supply is of good quality. EPA regulations, however, have become more stringent with regard to ground water influenced by surface water, which the existing shallow wells are to different degrees, primarily by the nearby Sawkill Stream. The District may at some point be mandated by the Ulster County Health Department to locate wells further from the Sawkill, or filter the water. Results from conductivity tests will tell. Filtering would be very costly. A 2003 report by the New York State Rural Water Association provides guidelines and advice with respect to the cheaper alternative of relocating the wells.

The District has in the past pumped up to 60,000,000 gallons in one year, with approximately 20,000,000 gallons unaccounted for. The wells have never gone completely dry, even during the historic 1963-1964 drought.

In the early 1950s shortly after the establishment of the District, the Bearsville housing development was constructed on the aquifer recharge area. Many of the houses were heated by oil, which of course required oil storage tanks. Tight lot dimensions caused many oil storage tanks to be buried. Whether above or under ground, a ruptured tank could contaminate the water supply. Also, the copper lines from the oil tank leading to the oil burner can deteriorate and leak. About twenty years ago a concern over the aging tanks emerged, especially the underground tanks that are extremely difficult to inspect.

State regulations prohibit the District from forcing homeowners to remove and/or upgrade oil tanks less than 1100 gallons. The oil tanks on the aquifer are less than 1100 gallons. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) can mandate tank replacement and other cleanup measures only after contamination has been detected.

Oil tanks and lines from the tank to the furnace should concern every property owner, no matter where they reside. Aside from the potential for costly environmental damages, New York State now requires prior to sale the full disclosure of property conditions, including age and location of oil tanks. Banks and lending institutions are very aware of the potential liabilities of old oil tanks, particularly buried ones, and in many cases will not authorize mortgages until the tanks have been upgraded.

If an oil tank or its lines located over the District’s recharge area were to contaminate the aquifer it would dramatically devalue all properties hooked up to the municipal water supply. “Catastrophe” would understate such an event.

Some residents hesitate to act from fear that their existing oil tank and line will be found to have leaked, and they will be held liable for the cleanup. But in most cases where tanks have been removed there have been no cleanup costs. Where there were costs they were generally minor. But points to consider are:

1. Cleanup costs are not covered by homeowner insurance policies.
2. If the tank or its line is leaking the cleanup costs are going to climb exponentially as time passes.
3. Even if you manage to sell your property you can still be held liable for cleanup costs. Yes, you could be retired to Florida only to find out that old oil tank you thought you left for the next property owner to take care of will eat your whole IRA.

Long story short: oil tanks and their lines, whether buried or above ground are a serious matter and the responsibility of preventing them from harming the environment is entirely up to the property owner.

What can be done?

Some home fuel companies for no fee will evaluate your current oil tank and lines, and if deemed necessary arrange for replacement. Costs can range from approximately $2000.00 to install a new above ground outdoor 275 gallon tank and properly dispose of the old one, to approximately $6000.00 to remove, properly dispose and replace an old 550 gallon underground tank with a new, approved double wall tank and install a monitoring well. An alternative solution would be to replace your oil burner with a propane furnace. There would still be the cost of removing the old oil tank, but no cost for the new propane tank. Your home fuel company can give you precise figures.

There is at least one local home fuel company that will remove and properly dispose an old tank and install a new one, or change the home heating system with a propane furnace, and spread the costs over three years at no interest. Property owners should contact their home fuel company and see if it will enter into such an agreement in exchange for a three-year service contract, and if not try another.

It is possible that with enough tank replacements or removals in a specific neighborhood that costs can be reduced by choosing a single contractor and coordinating the work. Since many of the remaining older buried oil tanks seem to be concentrated in one area over the aquifer the District should consider “jawboning” the residents toward this approach.

In a nutshell:
1) No matter where you live your oil tank and lines are a potential danger to the environment and to your wallet.
2) At least one local home fuel company will financially facilitate upgrading your home heating system (including waiving interest charges) in exchange for an extended service contract.
3) It may behoove you to network with other property owners with old oil tanks to see if a coordinated project will help keep down costs.
4) No matter how many oleaginous speechifiers with hidden political agendas orate on the matter, items 2 and 3 really address the problem.