Town appoints water authority representatives

Nearly eight months after announcing that the dormant Southeastern Nassau County Water Authority would be reactivated to investigate the feasibility of creating a new public water district for the area, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray named the five board members who would head the task force on Sept. 3.

The appointments still have to be voted on at an upcoming town board meeting, which is yet to be announced, town spokeswoman Susie Trenkle-Pokalsky said.

The water authority was originally created through state legislation in 1991, with the responsibility of determining whether a public takeover of a private water company made economic sense. The authority, which did not reach a conclusion, has been dormant since 1997, but Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg, along with community members, asked this past year that it be reactivated.

The request came when residents in Bellmore and Merrick realized that their water bills were significantly higher under Aqua America Inc., a private utility that provides water to the community under the name Aqua New York. Aqua customers pay $3.86 per 1,000 gallons of water, compared with Town of Hempstead ratepayers, who are charged 87 cents per 1,000 gallons.

Aqua officials say that their fees are higher because the company is required to pay property taxes to school districts, while the town is not. Aqua America pays nearly $470,000 in property taxes to Bellmore-Merrick school districts each year, and a total of $2.8 million to districts throughout the county. The publicly traded company had estimated revenues of $660 million in 2009, according to its financial filings. Aqua bought out the former New York Water Service Corporation in 2007.

“The rates charged by Aqua are outrageous,” Murray said in a press release. “[Town of Oyster Bay] Supervisor John Venditto and I are pleased that the Southeastern Nassau Water Authority will be reactivated with qualified members who will be acutely focused on determining if a public takeover of Aqua can offer residents of the district real savings.”