The CWC Board of Directors, at its meeting March 23, authorized amending the CWC Septic Rehabilitation and Replacement Program Rules to allow homes in the newly constituted Gladstone Hollow Priority Area to be connected to the recently constructed Andes Wastewater Treatment Plant, at a cost not to exceed $270,000.

The homes will continue to use existing or new individual septic tanks, with solids retained on-site. Effluent (liquid waste) will be conveyed through small-diameter sewer pipes to the main sewer collection system leading to treatment at the plant on Tremperskill Road.

The residential septic tanks will be pumped out regularly under terms of an operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) which is building the wastewater treatment plant. Homeowner O&M costs will be capped at $100 per year.

The project is a compromise between the City, the CWC and the Town of Andes, successor to the recently disincorporated Village of Andes. Several properties on Gladstone Hollow Road had been identified as a Supplemental Service Area when plans for the plant were originally drawn up, but there were insufficient funds to install a conventional sewer main, estimated at $600,000 to $800,000, in that area.

The use of small-diameter sewer pipe to convey liquids, and the regular pumping of solids from new septic tanks, was the most cost-effective alternative reviewed, especially when considering that septic systems in that area are vulnerable to failure because of small lot size, steep slopes, high groundwater table and unsuitable soils. Replacing them could have cost in excess of $270,000.

In other business, the CWC Board

Agreed to reimburse the Town of Roxbury $44,272 for the design and construction of stormwater controls on the former railroad bed where water and sewer lines were recently installed
• Authorized soliciting bids to collect and analyze stormwater runoff samples at four sites in the Watershed where Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been instituted in order to determine their effectiveness in curbing nutrient loading and other stormwater pollutants.
• Approved three new low-interest loans to Watershed businesses: Kingston Hot Rods and Collision on Route 28 in Kingston will use the funds to purchase the property it now occupies under lease; Crossroads Veterinary Practice in Arkville will borrow funds for renovations, equipment and inventory, and Masserson Properties, which previously obtained a CWC loan to purchase an apartment building in Roxbury, will use the new loan to complete renovations of the building into a motel known as The Roxbury.

For more information on CWC programs, consult the Corporation's web site, www.cwconline.org, or call 845-586-1400, or toll-free, 1-877-WAT-SHED.