Canton awarded $1 million for secondary water source

Thomas Graser, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Aug. 25—CANTON — The village has been awarded a $1 million grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission for its development of a secondary water source, Mayor Michael E. Dalton said Wednesday.

"We are very excited about it," Mr. Dalton said. "It helps us go a fairly long way in funding the project."

The total cost of the secondary water source is estimated to be $2.2 million.

The secondary water source is part of a comprehensive overhaul of Canton's water delivery system that has a total estimated price tag of $13 million, according to a recently updated pre-engineering plan, first prepared by local engineering firm Tisdel Associates in 2016.

The secondary water source delivers several benefits to the village, Mr. Dalton said.

Once it is in place, the village will be able to decommission its old water plant on Lincoln Street that used to deliver water from the Grasse River.

The building could be repurposed, Mr. Dalton said.

The secondary water supply is an economic development tool, he said.

"This helps guarantee a water supply for the future," Mr. Dalton said. "It protects us from failure from our primary supply."

Canton Economic Development Director Leigh Rodriguez, who prepared the grant application, said the process was very competitive.

The Northern Border Regional Commission grants were available to specific counties in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, she said.

"There were 137 applicants and only 56 were funded," she said.

The village's primary water source is drawn from wells off County Route 27 near Waterman Hill. The wells are located in the towns of Canton, Russell and Pierrepont, which all converge in a reservoir near Waterman Hill.

The water is delivered through a 100-year-old, 6-mile-long pipe.

"The advantage to having a secondary source in the village is that we are not dependent on a pipe that is over 100 years old," Mr. Dalton told the St. Lawrence Plaindealer earlier this year. "It gives us the ability to maintain services if there is a catastrophic failure up there (on Waterman Hill)."

The proposed new water source is behind 80 E. Main St. on property owned by St. Lawrence University.

The village has a lease for the property with the university, Ms. Rodriguez said.

Mr. Dalton had praise for the economic development office.

"This was a wonderful effort," he said. "It was very competitive."

Letters of support were supplied from the office of Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and Rep. Elise M. Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, Mr. Dalton said.

"We are very appreciative of the letters," Mr. Dalton said.