Residents decry proposed rate hike at American Water hearing

Low pressure, dirty water, high bills at issue

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Residents’ frustrations with New York American Water came to a boil Wednesday night at a two-hour public hearing at Wantagh High School. More than two dozen people protested a proposed rate hike, citing dirty water with low pressure, low-quality service and bills six times the size of their neighbors’.

The hearing was the second that day, with an earlier one held in Malverne.

Edward Steinman, of Bellmore, spoke about what a rate hike would mean for him as a disabled veteran who can’t work and is knee-deep in bills already.

“When you come along with something like this, you’re smacking me in the mouth,” Steinman said, adding that residents don’t want anything from NYAW that they don’t deserve.

Tim Gallagher, a Merrick resident for more than 60 years, was one of many attendees to compare his water bills with a friend’s in a neighboring town. He demanded to know why his was six times larger, and suggested that NYAW President Brian Bruce look at his own water bill and ask himself if what the company is charging its customers is fair.

In defense of the rate hike, Dennis Kelleher, president of H2M Water, a New York-based engineering organization, spoke about the state of the water industry in America. According to Kelleher, the nation’s water infrastructure is weakening and there is a need to invest in repairing it. Companies like NYAW are striving to ensure that repairs are made before the situation gets worse, he said.

Several residents, like Phil Glickman, of Bellmore, said they were confused by the price they were being charged for water. Glickman recalled receiving a notice from NYAW offering water repair insurance for a fee. He later found out the repairs were already covered by his insurance.

“I can’t even turn my sprinkler on,” said Wantagh resident Debra Peacock, referring to the low water pressure.

Tova Plaut, a Cedarhurst resident and a supporter of the advocacy group Long Island Clean Air, Water and Soil, held photos of brownish water pouring from her faucet and claimed that NYAW’s water quality was dangerous for its customers.

Bruce sent out a press release prior to the hearings, which defended the rate hike.

“New York American Water remains committed to providing the diverse infrastructure upgrades necessary to maintain and continue to improve the delivery of high-quality drinking water that our customers expect and deserve,” the statement read. Additionally, the hike will fund iron-removal treatment plants, improve the ground storage tanks responsible for water pressure and quality, and revitalize water mains, valves, service lines, wells and pumping stations.

The Public Service Commission will examine the points made at the hearing, along with those raised at the hearing in Malverne, to determine a plan of action, according to spokesman Guy Mazza.