Schumer: State should reject water rate hike

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer made an appeal to the New York Public Service Commission at a press conference on Monday to deny Aqua New York Water's request for a 12 percent rate hike and conduct an audit of the private company's original agreement with the state.

Aqua USA purchased New York Water in 2007, and provides water to residents of Bellmore, Merrick, Wantagh, Seaford, Levittown and Massapequa who have no alternative provider and reportedly pay more than neighboring communities in the Town of Hempstead that are part of municipal water districts.

"For years since Aqua USA purchased New York Water, they have been trying by hook or by crook to raise rates and raise rates and raise rates," said Schumer, who was joined by Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg, a fellow Democrat from Merrick, at the home of North Merrick Civic Association President Claudia Borecky, an Aqua user and one-time aide to Denenberg.

Aqua proposed the hike to increase revenue $3.5 million to cover increased property taxes, operation and maintenance expenses, and capital costs associated with a new plant, which would have resulted in an annual rate hike of nearly 16 percent for the average user, according to the testimony of Gerald Lynch, an administrative law judge who moderated public hearings for the PSC on the proposed rate hike in September. The PSC knocked down the originally requested amount, but Aqua continues to seek a 12 percent hike, he said.

Aqua New York Water President Matthew Snyder, of Merrick, said in an interview that costs for a "new plant" built into Aqua Water New York customer's water bill actually refers to two plants, one on Newbridge Road in Bellmore and one Jerusalem Avenue in Wantagh, which were built and became active in 2006 before Aqua purchased New York Water. The cost of the plants, he said, is unrelated to the rate hike, which he chalked up to taxes, chemical costs, new water mains, and a new well to be built in Wantagh.

"Every dollar we spend on capital is within our service territory," Snyder said. "New York operates independently."