DUNKIRK – Phase one of the $30.4 million Northern Chautauqua Water District project is complete. The water mains were brought on-line today, allowing the city of Dunkirk to supply water westward to customers in the towns of Dunkirk, Pomfret and Portland, and all the way to the Village of Brocton.
“It’s very exciting to see this amazing regional effort become a reality,” Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello said. “While I was in the county legislature I served on the agency that formed the new district and actively advocated for its creation. I look forward to the future expansion of the district so it may bring high-quality, reliable water supply to even more municipalities in Chautauqua County.”
The project leverages the existing infrastructure, reinforces water delivery systems, expands water service area and volume, and provides safe, dependable water to approximately 36,000 residents and several food processing businesses.
“Investments in our state’s water infrastructure help to build healthy communities and foster future economic growth,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “By working cooperatively to upgrade and rebuild water systems in northern Chautauqua County, these communities are helping to ensure that residents and their families will have access to safe, dependable drinking water for generations to come.”
The Northern Chautauqua County Water District has a 40-year contract with the city of Dunkirk as the sole water supplier to the system. The project includes the installation of seven miles of pipes, a 500,000-gallon water storage tank in the village of Brocton, and a pump station in the town of Portland. With the water now being supplied from Dunkirk, the village of Brocton will begin to decommission their water reservoir and water treatment plant.
Phase two of the Water District project calls for water mains to be constructed going east from the city of Dunkirk along Route 5 in the town of Sheridan, completing the transmission of water from the city of Dunkirk all the way to the village of Silver Creek border. This construction is slated for completion by the end of 2019 and includes the installation of a new water storage tank in Dunkirk.
New York State leads the nation with the largest annual investment in water-quality infrastructure of any state. The Water District project received a Western New York Regional Economic Development grant for $1 million.
Chairman of the Northern Chautauqua Co. Water District Board Don Steger said, “This project would have been much more difficult for the individual municipalities to accomplish by themselves, but working together we have attained a successful regional project that will benefit this area for decades to come. We need to continue these types of regional collaborations to establish positive forward improvements to improve the welfare of our residents, now and in the future and maintain economic viability for our little corner of the world.”
The project will not only prove healthier for residents, but will also enhance economic development, State Sen. Catharine M. Young said.
“With the completion of this first phase of the Northern Chautauqua Water District project, we’ve taken a huge step forward towards this goal. The collaboration on the part of all the municipalities who drove this effort forward has been extraordinary and clearly integral to the project’s success,” Young said. “My thanks go out to these local government partners and to Governor Cuomo for his ongoing support.”
This project speaks credit to what can be done through cooperation, Assemblyman Andy Goodell said.
“The Northern Chautauqua water district project is an example of the positive results that occur when communities collaborate on important infrastructure projects. I congratulate everyone involved for staying the course to bring a reliable flow of safe water to thousands of residents,” he said.
