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South Blooming Grove names lead agency for water‑system upgrade after residents report brown, undrinkable water
Summary
Residents described brown, undrinkable water and out‑of‑pocket filtration costs; the board declared lead‑agency status for a water‑system, storage and distribution upgrade and approved emergency water‑supply measures to increase capacity.
Mayor George Kalaj and the Village Board of South Blooming Grove moved on May 5 to designate the village lead agency for a planned water‑system, storage, meter and distribution upgrade after multiple residents described persistent brown water and inadequate supply.
Village Engineer Al Fusco presented proposed amendments to Chapter 85 (private wells) and Chapter 235 (open‑space rules) intended to ease access to additional water sources. Resolution No. 031 declared the board lead agency for the proposed water improvements and adopted a negative declaration under environmental review; Trustee Asher Guttman moved acceptance and Deputy Mayor Abraham Weiss seconded. The motion passed 4 Ayes, 1 Absent (Trustee Yitzchok Feldman).
During public comment, resident Howard McLean said he spent $8,000 on a home filtration system and described routine brown water and unusable tap water: "This water is crap, he can’t even do his laundry." Isaac Ekstein, legislative aide to the mayor, told the board the village is working with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and pursuing new wells and potential acquisition of private wells to increase supply, saying, "we are dealing with the same issues, we are trying to make it go away, it is not going to happen over night." Ekstein also explained that short supply and trucked water can stir sediment into the pipes, contributing to brown water.
Board members approved a separate emergency water‑supply action (Resolution No. 035) the same evening, declaring lead agency for emergency supply measures and finding no significant environmental impact. The resolutions authorize the village to pursue upgrades and to move more quickly on private‑well access where needed; the board did not set compensation terms in the meeting record for any village acquisition of privately owned wells. Bonnie Rum asked what compensation would be offered if the village were to acquire a privately paid well; the transcript records her concern but contains no response that specified payment amounts.
The board's actions create an administrative path for the water project and emergency measures; next procedural steps in the minutes are internal lead‑agency tasks and further coordination with the DEC and engineers. The village recorded the public hearings as opened at 8:04 p.m. and closed at 8:15 p.m.
