Aqua NY President: Ground Storage Tank Could Address Water Pressure Problems

With many Wantagh and Seaford residents opposed to Aqua New York’s 158-foot water tower on land next to a residential neighborhood, the company’s president is expressing a willingness to explore an alternative project aimed at addressing low water pressure in the area.

During a community meeting Tuesday night on the proposed 500,000 gallon water tower for DeMott Avenue in Wantagh near the Seaford border, Aqua New York president Matt Snyder said an alternative proposal could be the constriction of a wider ground storage tank that would only rise 25-feet. Snyder said a ground storage tank would cost about $2.5 million compared to $2 million for a water tower but that the operating costs would be more expensive.

“We have to do something to correct the water pressures that we have in the system,” said Snyder during Tuesday night’s forum held inside the Auditorium. “We have to come up with a project that alleviates this problem.”

Snyder said he would be consulting with other Aqua officials before committing to proposing a ground storage tank at the DeMott Avenue station, which as built in the 1950’s and is located just west of the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway. Aqua is currently to present its proposal for a water tower before the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 10.

Aqua New York serves more than 152,000 residents in the New York City metropolitan area including the communities of Wantagh, Seaford, Merrick, Bellmore, Levittown, Massapequa Park, East Massapequa and parts of Glen Cove. It is a subsidiary of Aqua America, which posted $104 million net income in 2009. The Southeastern Nassau County Water Authority has held recent meetings discussing a because of high rates.

Snyder said Aqua New York’s elevated storage tank on Jefferson Street in Merrick is often at lower levels than it needs to be, which is why another facility in the Wantagh-Seaford area is needed to adequately service customers in southeast Nassau County.

John Gillen said during Tuesday’s meeting that water pressure does need to be improved in the area, but he did not take a stance on whether that should be accomplished through an elevated or a ground storage tank.

“I’m here just to let you know that we would like to get the water pressure boosted, but we are not endorsing the tank, the pump system, either or,” said Gillen.

Complicating Aqua’s proposed water tower is a that if approved by regulators would lead to Lynbrook-based Long Island American Water taking control of water services in southeast Nassau county currently run by Aqua. Snyder said if the transaction is approved in early 2012 he hopes to still be overseeing operations at the DeMott Avenue facility with Long Island American Water.

Many of the over 100 residents who attended Tuesday night’s community meeting hosted by the and Wantagh Civic Association expressed concerns about how the proposed water tower would impact property values in areas where the structure would be visible in Wantagh and Seaford.

“This is not going to be good for real estate values,” said Seaford resident Ken Nersesian, who lives in the vicinity of where the tower would be erected. “It is going to be an eyesore for a great distance away.”