The Wawarsing Town Board last week held the first round of a public hearing on the proposed extension of the Wawarsing Water District to the Port Ben neighborhood.

The Wawarsing Water District represents a $22 million investment by New York City via its Department of Environmental Protection to ensure there are no messy problems this fall when the aqueduct that takes water from the Rondout Reservoir to New York City is closed down for long-delayed repairs. The town inked the agreement for the water district in 2018.

The issue has been what that shutdown might do to wells along a stretch of the Route 209 corridor between Lippman Park and Turkey Hill.

For decades the aqueduct, believed to have a long gash in its walls, has been leaking an estimated 1 million gallons of water a day into the ground under Route 209 and the homes along that stretch of the road. The town negotiated a deal with the DEP, which has taken on the entire cost of the project.

The agreement to include Port Ben will require that a pipe be run under the Rondout Creek, close to the location of the now-closed Port Ben bridge. On the eastern side of the creek an eight-inch water main will be put in place in the core of the Port Ben neighborhood. Six-inch water mains will also be extended to bring the water to 36 parcels, mostly residential, sitting on a total of 69.1 acres.

The probable construction cost is $5.6 million, which includes the distribution network, the directional drilling under the creek and the connections to individual homes. The estimated quarterly fee to be charged to individual homeowners in the new extension area will be $101.06 or $120.22, depending on the amount of water used.

Bill Richardson of the DEP was present and explained that the repairs were scheduled to take about eight months. He noted that the work on the aqueduct — which includes the huge work under the Hudson at Newburgh — is the “biggest repair project in the history of New York State.” He added that since this is New York City’s water supply involved, it’s extremely important. The aqueduct is part of the biggest section of the city’s public water supply.

Town Attorney Bill Collier recommended that the public hearing be kept open to the next board meeting. He said that the State Environmental Quality Review would need to be completed and a final map of the new extension readied. Work on building out the extension could begin in the early summer.

In other water news, the town board authorized the supervisor to execute an agreement with the Town of Rochester to accept $30,000 for the Rochester side’s use of the Kerhonkson pool. The money goes to pool operation and maintenance. Also, progress has been seen in the struggle against algae in Lippman Park Pond as aerators continue to raise oxygen levels there. The pond is now being treated by Catskill Pond.