West Hempstead water is safer than ever to drink, with the quality constantly monitored, but the district may face increased regulatory compliance in the near future, District Superintendent Jason Belle told the Echo.
“We are lucky that our treatment costs have been relatively low, but those days are changing,” Belle said in a recent interview. “Regulators and politicians will introduce new regulations and we will have to abide by them and we will have to add treatment.”
Detailing the process of how our local system works, Belle said our newly constructed one million gallon tower will more efficiently store and deliver water with enough reserves for fire department emergency usage and heavy summer demand for lawns and pools. The legacy tower, he said, “had reached the end of its useful life,” and it was more cost efficient to replace than repair.
The water quality report is posted annually on the district’s website. The current report is for 2021 since the lab results go through many stages before release, including proper formatting for compliance with the Health Department. The Environmental Protection Agency currently requires that it is available by May 31 of each year.
Belle began his tenure at West Hempstead Water District over 15 years ago as a water plant attendant and later worked as a water plant operator, and became the district’s fifth superintendent on January 1, 2020. He said while he wears many hats in this role, “at the end of the day my goal is to provide clean, potable water to the public.”
Explaining the rate disparity between residents of the district and those served by American Water, Belle noted that the district is supported by tax revenue in addition to utility bills, and does not pay property or other taxes on supplies and other purchases. By contrast American Water is a private company with shareholders, subject to taxes and other costs with no public support.
Belle said the cost of complying with state and federal standards may eventually cut into that disparity. “The bills will not be low forever but we hope that we can them reasonable for the public.”
