WURTSBORO – The Village of Wurtsboro will be getting its new water system. In a meeting this past Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Mickey Maher signed the documents that will provide to the village a loan of approximately $1.5 million for the repair and upgrading of the village water system.

"I'm happy, very happy," said Maher after signing the documents.

The loan, which is from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), will be paid off over 38 years, and will carry an interest rate of just 2.75 percent, according to Glen Gidaly of Barton & Loguidice, the Ellenville engineering firm that has been helping Wurtsboro with its application.

"It's a really good rate," Gidaly said in regard to the loan.

The village will soon begin looking to area contractors for the submission of bids on the project, which will include the renovation of a number of aging water mains, as well as the replacement of aging "goosenecks," the lead-based pipes that currently connect most village homes to the water main.

The project will also address the lack of fire hydrants on the north end of the village, a situation that has been of particular concern for Mayor Maher. The new water system will include more hydrants for this neighborhood.

"It's been a real safety issue," said Maher.

Another area of concern is that most village homes have no water meter. This is a problem, as the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) requires villages within the Delaware River watershed to keep track of how much water they consume. The loan will allow Wurtsboro, a large portion of which has been grandfathered by the DBRC, to install meters on every home.

The village hopes to break ground on the project sometime in the late summer or early fall, according to Gidaly. In fact, Wurtsboro must break ground at some point during this calendar year in order fulfill requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the recent federal stimulus package.

The village is also looking into the possibility of acquiring funds under what is known as the Green Innovation Grant Program (GIGP). If approved, this grant would go toward the purchase of the aforementioned water meters — which, under ARRA, must be American-made — and would reduce the amount of money the village would need to borrow. This program has the added incentive of coming in the form of a grant, which would not have to be repaid. The grant application asks for approximately $200,000 dollars under GIGP.

If the interest of state and federal elected officials is any indication of the application's success, then it looks as if Wurtsboro is in a very good position.

Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, State Senator John Bonacic, and Congressman Maurice Hinchey have each sent letters to the village indicating their enthusiastic support for Wurtsboro's application. Village officials should find out sometime in the coming months whether the GIGP grant has been approved.

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