A new plan to safeguard the Albany County Town of Bethlehem's water supply has been approved.
Following an autumn algae bloom that tainted drinking water and potential risks to its reservoir from biosolids, the town board on Wednesday unanimously approved a Source Water Protection Plan. Commissioner of Public Works Paul Penman says the plan, first drafted in 2021, focuses on land acquisition, nutrient loading, and education.
"It was done through free technical assistance from the state," said Penman. "It was kind of finalized in the last couple months, and the board basically formally adopted it, the plan. What it does is it gives strategies to protect the watershed. You know, the basically, the big takeaway is the best way to treat contaminants in the watershed is to keep them from getting into the water."
Penman says the state Department of Health will assist the town in proactively protecting the Vly Creek Reservoir and Selkirk Wellfield. The 165-acre reservoir serves as the primary drinking water supply for the town, providing 3million gallons per day.
Department of Health technical assistance provider Alyssa Bement addressed the Town Board. “Having contamination sources near water supplies and in the general watershed is very common. However, we can take actions to increase protections for the source water. And preservation of source water through watershed protection is one of the more efficient ways to maintain drinking water before it gets to the treatment plant. And by taking a watershed approach, we can be prepared to combat any contamination, to avoid preventable treatment cost, and keep the water meeting state and federal standards. And the hope is, by implementing this plan, Bethlehem will be equipped to take on any changes in the general watershed,” Bement said.
The plan entails several different strategies to ensure the safety of the water supply. Penman says the town has doubled down on vigilance of its reservoir.
"We're going to begin sampling a couple times a week, checking for algae counts, checking for growth in the reservoir," Penman said. "And then, based on what we see, we'll start either start applying chemicals at an earlier time or at a different dosage. And we'll be doing that throughout the season. We're pretty confident that we can control the algae with that measure alone. However, if something happens, you know, Mother Nature is unpredictable. The next layer would be, we have since last year, which we started in December, an activated carbon system, which is effective at removing taste and odor out of the water.”
The Bethlehem Town Board also passed a resolution favoring Albany County's moratorium on the use of organic matter recycled from sewage known as biosolids that has been extended through October.
Ryan Dunham lives in the town of New Scotland. His property is within several hundred feet of the Vly Creek Reservoir. Dunham is one of several homeowners who experienced contamination of their wells after a nearby farm stored and spread biosolids last spring. Dunham says the biosolids turned his well water a foul-smelling brown.
"And it was that way for weeks and weeks and weeks. We believe that they went from the field and then were able to go through the limestone, because we have porous limestone everywhere, it’s the topography, and tainted our well, which is 325 feet under the ground. And we had levels of E-coli and coliform that were 200 times recommended levels for drinking," said Dunham, who wonders whether there’s a connection between biosolids and the Vly Reservoir algae bloom.
Penman attributes the bloom to an unexpected stretch of warm weather that occurred after the town concluded seasonal treatment of the reservoir. He adds that most importantly, Bethlehem’s water is safe.
Dunham says he and his New Scotland Road neighbors haven't ruled out taking legal action. He says the issue is bigger than just impacting Albany County.
"How many people are there like me, that have had their wells contaminated by this practice? I think the next step is New York state needs a five-year moratorium to figure out the scope of the problem. Both for people like me and those who use public drinking water, but also for farmers who spread it on their land and was told it's safe, and now have potentially contaminated land or tainted food,” said Dunham.
The State Department of Health tells WAMC it will provide the Town of Bethlehem six months of free implementation assistance and will review the town’s Source Water Protection Plan plan annually and every five years for revisions or updates.
