Pomfret discusses drafted emergency water supply contract | News, Sports, Jobs

A tentative contract for the interconnects with the North County Water District was presented at the Pomfret Town Board meeting Wednesday.

The contract reads that in the event of an emergency, water between the district and the village of Fredonia will be needed to utilize transmission lines owned by the town. However, the town will not be responsible for the costs.

“If North County Water has to get water from the village of Fredonia, they pay the village of Fredonia rate,” town Supervisor Dan Pacos said. “If Fredonia has to get water from the North County Water District, they pay the North County rate. There will be no upcharge, and our feeling is that you shouldn’t nail a municipality in an emergency, you should help out each other.”

The interconnects will be located at the Portland and Sheridan town lines, and the agreement is for one year with an automatic renewal unless one party gives advance notice of 30 days that they wish to exit the agreement. The town wants to remind residents that in the event of an emergency, the rates won’t change and residents will still pay the same village rates.

“The interconnects are fully funded by a grant obtained by the North County Water District,” Pacos said. “This will only be used if there is an emergency like a reservoir issue, major break or a major fire. For our sake, I wanted the interconnects. First of all, they’re free because they’re being fully paid for by grant funding and it’s just good insurance for us.”

The major provisions in the contract cite that all four parties involved — the North County Water District, the city of Dunkirk, the village of Fredonia and the town of Pomfret — must all agree to turn the interconnects on before they can actually be turned on, meaning water metering will be strictly watched and there will be no lack of communication between parties.

“There undoubtedly will have to be a set of protocols to be agreed upon by the parties particularly those to be billed,” town attorney Jeff Passafaro said. “Those to be billed under the agreement are the village and/or North County, those are identified as the purchasers. The town is not identified as a purchaser. The town is identified because the lines are in the town and our district to which potentially other lines will be connected.”