Stalled Water Reservoir for SH Gets Boost for Construction

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June 4, 2015

| by Robert Kimmel |

A series of procedural matters holding up the construction of a critically needed new water reservoir for Sleepy Hollow apparently have been settled, and work on the structure could begin within a few months. Agreement on the issues encountered followed two years of discussions between the Village, the Town of Mt. Pleasant and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“We could see the start of the project this summer,” said Village Administrator Anthony Giaccio, adding Sleepy Hollow is likely to request bids on the work this month.

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Two years ago, Sleepy Hollow announced it had a working agreement allowing it to build a 1.6 million gallon reservoir in land owned by the Trust which is managed by the Rockefellers Brothers Fund. That initial accord, announced in June 2013, gave the village a 99-year lease for an easement to construct the reservoir at a high point off Lake Road, some distance behind the Kykuit estate mansion. There would be no cost to the Village for use of the land.

At that time, Sleepy Hollow Mayor Ken Wray called the additional reservoir crucial for continued development in the Village. Without it, he stated, “Growth would be at a standstill,” citing the vacated GM and Castle Oil sites where residential expansion will take place. He praised the agreement, and characterized it as a “…generous act by the National Trust, which solves what has been an intractable problem for the Village for many years.”

“This project is in keeping with our efforts to be a good neighbor, whether it is as a community resource or through the public programs we offer residents,” said Charles Granquist, then the Executive Director of the Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

The village’s existing tank provides less than a 24-hour water supply, hardly half of the reserve required by state regulations. Situated in the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, the 800,000-gallon tank, built in 1926, will continue to be used in conjunction with the new reservoir. It has periodically been in need of repairs. Several years ago, Sleepy Hollow had to impose water restrictions over a weekend, when a water main break depleted the water in the tank. Having two tanks, the Mayor noted, would allow one to be shut down for maintenance without disrupting supplies. The anticipated construction cost of the new reservoir is approximately $4 million, with $650,000 of that amount contributed by the developer of the GM site.

In 2013, with the involved parties presumably in agreement, it appeared that the new reservoir would be built within a year. Since the tank will be located outside the Village, Sleepy Hollow required and received a special permit for the reservoir’s construction from the Town of Mt. Pleasant, according to Town Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi. That permit has undergone modifications since its original issuance.

Certain aspects of the project required further discussion and construction did not begin. Fulgenzi noted that because there were different Rockefeller estate properties, and various areas of the estates would be affected by the network of water mains and lines, easements for use of those locations had to be determined. The location of the various mains had also been a lingering question.

Fulgenzi also said that some “minor legal and technical matters” had to be satisfied. “The Town has been working with the Rockefeller Fund for almost two years now, and getting all the paper work together so Sleepy Hollow could proceed with the project,” he added.

What Fulgenzi called a “challenge” are water lines running off of mains which are not metered. Apparently, the Rockefeller interests have requested that Sleepy Hollow install meters on all such lines that have and will provide water to various locations throughout the estate so that water costs to those locations are measured and charged accordingly as opposed to a general fee now collected by the Village.

“I know it is important to Sleepy Hollow to get the tank built, because no future development can really happen without this reservoir of water,” Fulgenzi said. “We will do whatever we can to help Sleepy Hollow to move along the process.”

Sleepy Hollow had considered several locations, including its current water tank site, for the construction of a larger reservoir before working out its arrangement with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Village purchases its water supply from New York City, collecting it from the Catskill Aqueduct as it flows south, and directs it to its pumping station along the Tarrytown Lakes. The water is fed from there into its storage tank from which it is sent throughout the Village.

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