Water meters to be installed for 100% of Diana water district users in new water project
Mar. 19—HARRISVILLE — It has been a long time coming, but residents on the town of Diana water system will finally get usage meters installed just in time to meet the second deadline issued by the state on the matter.
All residents and businesses using the town water system have been asked to sign an easement to allow the town to install a water meter in their basements. The meters send the usage information electronically to a receiver that will be taken around on a vehicle by town staff at set intervals for the reading.
So far, only about 30% of water users have signed the easements, according to town Supervisor Zachary Smith.
"If 100% metering isn't met by 2025, then we run the risk of losing our water withdrawal permits... so any house that isn't metered will have to unhook from the water district," he said.
The meters are part of a wider water system improvement project intended to increase the water pressure and fire flow levels at hydrants through upgrades to wells, equipment, storage units and treatment facilities.
Improvements recommended by EDR, the Syracuse-based engineering company working with the town, include building new metering and water treatment facilities at the two wells on opposite ends of the town and replacing the pumps at both wells.
The oldest well, installed in 1973, will be used as a back-up well, but is not currently active because it does not produce enough water in its current state. The most recently installed well — established in 1990 — will remain the primary source. There is a third well, installed in 1977, but it has not been active for a number of years and does not have a structure to house disinfection and metering equipment like the other two offer.
Although there are currently three storage tanks in the system, only two holding 200,000 gallons each are usable. The third has reportedly been abandoned for years. Engineers recommend that all three tanks be removed and a new 350,000-gallon tank on a base that is 30 feet taller replace them.
The plan also recommends adding some sections to the existing 8.4 miles of water main pipes to connect two dead-end streets — Wilder drive and Mullin Street — to existing water mains on Mill Street and State Route 3, respectively, among others.
The project, still in its design phase, has been estimated to cost about $4 million and will be paid for with a mixture of grants, town funds and a long term, low interest loan of about $1.24 million.
Many of the water system's needs, including that of meters, were pinpointed during the process of dissolving the village of Harrisville which owned the water system to the point the dissolution was completed in 2019.
In 1990, the state issued the village a water withdrawal permit with the caveat that all users would be metered by April 1992, which was not met.
In 2020, another withdrawal permit was issued — this time to the system's new owner, the town of Diana — with the 2025 metering deadline.
The state Department of Health has to approve the proposed improvements and Mr. Smith said the next step will be a meeting with the department about the water quality in the well intended for the backup system which will inform the design of the project.
He also said there will be additional public outreach to inform people about the project and ensure all water users sign easements to receive their first water meter.
