NT agrees to IMA, Lockport not quite ready

The City of North Tonawanda has agreed to enter into an intermunicipal agreement with the City of Lockport to share Water/Wastewater Treatment Services.

In 2007, Senator George Maziarz secured a $440,000 grant to be used for a tri-cities water study, which allowed engineers to look into the possibility of the three Niagara County cities, including North Tonawanda, Lockport and Niagara Falls sharing one water treatment plant.

The study, done by CRA, determined it would cost nearly $20 million to implement this change, because of the constriction that would need to be done to connect the piping. CRA’s findings showed that combining all three cities was not feasible.

In the continued efforts to lower water rates for Niagara County residents, a $600,000 grant has been secured to conduct a second study, however this time, the study will determine the feasibility of using the already existing 13-mile line that runs from Lockport to North Tonawanda to send treated water through it and ultimately lead to a shared service agreement between just the two cities, North Tonawanda and Lockport.

“Lockport already has a water line that runs into North Tonawanda. They pull their water out of the river and send it untreated to the City of Lockport, where they then treat it and it’s drinkable,” said North Tonawanda Mayor Rob Ortt.

If the study determines the pipe is usable, North Tonawanda would then treat the City of Lockport’s water in North Tonawanda and send treated water down the already existing line to Lockport.

“All we would need to do is connect the lines,” said Ortt. “The engineering proposal for this option [connecting only the two cities, instead of all three] was miniscule compared to the tri-cities option,” said Ortt.

The first 10 miles of the 13-mile line was replaced in the 1990s, which is considered new piping. The last three miles of the line is the original line and needs to be examined.

The health department is the determining factor of whether or not this line is usable for treated to water to be sent through.

The first 10 miles of the 13-mile line was replaced in the 1990s, which is considered new piping. The last three miles of the line is the original line and needs to be examined.

The health department is the determining factor of whether or not this line is usable for treated to water to be sent through.

“There is a difference between sending untreated water and treated water through the pipe,” said Ortt. “We have to make sure that if we’re sending treated water through this line, it’s drinkable. If it’s supposed to be treated when it comes out, the health department needs to make sure it’s safe to send treated water through.”

The study will focus on various sections of the line at different portions throughout the 13 miles.

“The concern from the health department is with the last three miles, because they are going to be disturbing the line when studying it,” said Ortt.

Both cities currently have their own water treatment plants. In the event all parties involved choose to move forward with this change, Lockport would exit the water treatment business. The Lockport plant would be “mothballed” — shut down but kept in good condition in case it needs to be used in the future — and the Lockport staff would be downsized over a period of time.

North Tonawanda would treat the water and send it to Lockport, as Lockport would then purchase the treated water from North Tonawanda.

“This is Lockport’s line, they will certainly be taking a gamble, because if there is something wrong they are going to have to fix it,’ said Ortt. “But, the study and the gamble are worth it, because what the initial phase found is that if we do this, it would result in significant cost savings.”

The intermunicipal agreement would save on costs of treating water, employee costs, overtime costs and infrastructure costs.

Lockport would have a cost savings by reducing their expenditures and North Tonawanda would increase their appropriations, because they would be gaining money from Lockport that would offset the costs of treating and sending water to Lockport.

“There is not going to be a savings for NT, we would be picking up an additional revenue,” said Ortt. “Instead of just North Tonawanda customers buying our water, Lockport residents would also be buying our water.”

City of Lockport Mayor Michael Tucker said Lockport is still on board with the agreement as of today. In the event the health department determines the line is usable, Tucker said, “the project will move forward.”

In addition to the grant secured for this project, a 20 percent local match to pay for a camera to go through the 13-mile line and see its condition was added to the cost.

When North Tonawanda passed the resolution to pay their portion of the grant, they agreed to pay $24,445. Tucker said Lockport is not ready to do that.

“We’re getting there, we’re just not there yet,” said Tucker. “It’s really about downsizing government and sharing services. But at the same time, doing the best thing for the taxpayer.”

Tucker said once the City of Lockport has all of the answers they are looking for and they know this will be a long-term agreement, they will sit down with North Tonawanda and determine how much the City of Lockport will be charged for water, in order to move forward with the project.

The study is expected to take place in the fall. If the three miles of line is deemed sufficient, Ortt is hopeful the project will move forward as early as 2014.

In the event the line is insufficient, Ortt stated frankly, “We would stop the study and not use anymore of the grant money toward this study.”