By EJ Conzola II

NYVT Media

WHITEHALL – Village officials hope a contractor will be able to install a pump in Pine Lake overnight that will send water flowing into the line feeding the village water system by Tuesday morning.

Village officials shut down the water system Sunday night and declared a state of emergency after the amount of water reaching the village from the Town of Dresden lake fell to about 200 gallons per minute – about a third of what the village normally receives and not enough to ensure service to all water system customers, Mayor Francis “Fra” Putorti said.

The new pump should increase the amount of water moving through the 10-inch line that feeds the village and make water available in the village by morning, Putorti said. However, the village still needs to recharge the water towers that help provide the pressure to move water through the village pipes, so the restored service may be intermittent until the towers are filled, the mayor said.

The lack of flow in the line from Pine Lake was largely the result of a significant drop in the water level in the lake, Putorti said. Water enters the system below the lake surface, and pressure from the weight of the water in the lake pushes water through a pipe that rises about 10 feet to go over the dam.

The pump will be attached to a new line that will carry water over the dam and connect to a new valve on the downslope of the existing pipe, increasing the flow to the village, Putorti said.

The low water level in the lake was the worst of several possible reasons for the water system failure, Putorti said. Officials had also explored the possibility of a broken valve on the water line or debris or beaver activity creating a clog where the water enters the line – both of which could have been fixed relatively quickly and easily, he said.

However, the village has no control over the lake level and will have to rely on Mother Nature to rectify the situation, he said.

“We need more rain and water for the lake to fill,” the mayor said.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation says most of New York State – including all of Washington County – is in a drought watch, the lowest level of drought.

A diver brought in by the village to check the line did find debris slowing the water flow, but even when it was cleared, water flow increased only slightly, he noted.

The pump installation will relieve the village’s water woes temporarily, but steps must be taken to ensure a more reliable flow of water, Putorti said. One possible solution – which the state has mandated for other communities – is finding a new source of water to serve as a backup for the existing system, he noted. The new source would likely be a well, he said.

Whatever step the village takes, it will be costly, Putorti said.

“Nothing’s going to be cheap,” he said.

The village has recently received more than $6 million in state and federal grants to upgrade its existing water and sewer systems, with much of that money targeted at replacing pipes that in many cases are more than a century old.

For the time being, bottled water will be available at the Whitehall Volunteer Fire Co. station on Main Street until 8 p.m. Monday and beginning again Tuesday at 8 a.m.  The village is also working on non-potable water availability for flushing toilets, the village said in a news release about the situation. 

 “The Village understands the difficulty that this emergency has caused,” the release said. “We are working as fast as we can to coordinate the necessary response, and the Village appreciates the outpouring of support and the patience of Village residents.” 

Whitehall schools were closed Monday, Dec. 9, and the district is planning to offer remote learning on Dec. 10. The high school will be open to permit students to retrieve materials they may need, but no in-school classes are scheduled at this time.