Water main replacement included in Lynbrook school budget vote

Dianna Viglietta’s sink, bathtub and even her washer are all eroded from the rust water that comes out of her pipes on Abrams Place. For the past 14 years, she has had to replace countless towels, buy new dishwashers and send all of her family’s clothes to a laundromat. The rust is so bad, that Viglietta bought several new dishwashers in a single year, and can no longer get a warranty for it. She said the filters she installed do not even help the situation nor do they get rid of the water’s foul odor.

“The crazy part for me is this is what it’s destroying,” Viglietta said about the water. “You just wonder what it could be doing to you as a human.”

Others in the area, she said, have low water pressure and odor problems. But after years of complaining to New York American Water, this may change. Viglietta and others on Abrams Place, Katherine Street, Williams Street and Bowler Avenue could get a new water main installed if the public votes in favor of proposition five of the Lynbrook Public Schools proposed budget on May 16.

The new water main would replace one from the 1960s, according to Chris Buday, the vice president of operations for New York American Water. Over time, the dead-end pipe filled with sludge that built up inside the pipe. “It’s kind of like a clogged artery for a human,” Viglietta explained.

The road, however, is too densely populated to continue the pipe. American Water’s only solution, therefore, is to replace the water main. This would solve the problems for several years. “I am sure that when they replace the pipe, people are going to see an increase in water pressure,” said Buday.

To install the pipe, New York American Water would use machines to saw up the asphalt and dig a hole to the water main. The company would then keep the old pipe in place, and lay the new pipe next to it, while the new pipe is being disinfected for almost a month. “It has to wait so many days with disinfection,” Buday said.

After the pipe is disinfected, New York American Water would turn off the water in the area and install the new pipe. The company would like to begin this month-long project the last week of May. “As long as everyone’s 100 percent in cooperation with what we’re doing, it will be a fast procedure,” he said. First, however, the project needs to be approved.

According to Paul Lynch, the assistant superintendent for finance, operations and information systems, the school district had to put the new water main installation up for a vote so that the Board of Education can negotiate an easement across the two district properties that are above the water main. “The district was advised by its legal counsel that since American Water is listed on the stock exchange, that it would not be permissible for the Board to negotiate an easement without voter approval,” he said.

The project would not increase taxes, however, as New York American Water said that they will pay for the installation of the new pipe and for the road replacement. Any damages would also be paid for, as part of New York American Water’s capital expenditure plan. “Anything that we damage, we will fix,” Buday said.

Also included as part of the budget vote are propositions to transfer funds to pay for facility upgrades and new technologies, as well as a proposition to reauthorize the technology reserve fund.