The Batavia Town Board invites all town of Batavia property owners to attend an informational meeting to discuss the proposed formation of a new water district and the consolidation of all existing water districts within the town boundaries. The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Aug. 12 in Room T102 of Conable Technology Building at Genesee Community College, 1 College Rd., Batavia.
The proposed water district would extend public water service to properties along portions of Galloway and Slusser roads, Harloff Road and Stegman and Miller roads. The town of Batavia currently has about 99 miles of water main serving town properties, with about nine miles of roadway remaining without public water service. The proposed project would bring water to an additional 6.5 miles of roadway, reducing the number of unserved road miles to approximately 2.5.
Town officials say the project would provide safe, reliable drinking water to residents along these roads—some of whom have requested public water—while also improving redundancy and overall reliability in the town’s water system.
During the meeting, representatives will present information on the proposed project area, estimated costs, the process of connecting homes to public water and the anticipated project schedule.
Following the discussion of the new water district, the meeting will shift to a proposal to consolidate all existing water districts in the town of Batavia into a single Batavia Townwide Water District.
:While there is a legal definition of water district, it is basically an area that receives public water service and pays for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the infrastructure that delivers that water," the town said.
The town currently has 18 separate water districts. Newer districts typically carry long-term construction debt but benefit from newer water mains that require minimal maintenance, the town said. In contrast, older districts have paid off their original debt but now face higher maintenance costs and upcoming water main replacements that will require new borrowing.
While each district currently finances its own infrastructure, town officials note that the water mains function as a single interconnected system.
"Newer mains depend on older ones to deliver water and newer infrastructure improves redundancy for the older system by reducing service interruptions during repairs. Despite this interdependence, construction debt is unevenly distributed among district," the town said.
Under the proposed consolidation, all existing construction debt would be combined and shared equally among properties within the consolidated district. While property owners in districts that have paid off their debt would see an increase in their contribution, officials say they would also benefit by paying less toward future water main replacements than they would without consolidation.
State law requires municipalities to maintain separate financial records for each water district’s operations and maintenance, which directly affect water rates. The town currently does not maintain separate rates for each district, an issue noted by the New York State comptroller during an audit.
"Developing and managing separate rates for 18 districts would be time-consuming and difficult, resulting in increased water rates," the town said. "Consolidation allows the town to meet financial reporting requirements while maintaining reasonable rates."
The meeting will provide additional details on the consolidation, current and anticipated water system projects, costs, the consolidation process, and an anticipated timeline.
Property owners who are unable to attend the meeting and would like more information may contact Joey Neth at 585-343-1729 ext. 215 or via email at jneth@townofbatavia.gov. The presentation materials will also be posted on the town’s website at www.townofbatavia.gov following the meeting.