Save Colonie: A Partnership for Planning has been working for five years to increase transparency and government accountability to residents of Colonie. Our town is now faced with arguably the most consequential decision in a generation, but little information has been provided to the residents. When asked directly, the town board and supervisor have not responded. We deserve better.
The purpose of this blog is to provide information we’ve obtained and raise questions for our officials to answer publicly. We believe this process is necessary before a wise decision can be made about selling Stony Creek Reservoir or any other valuable town asset. Here is the fourth article:
Article IV: Private Profit or Public Purpose?
The water expert SAVE consulted looked over the DEC’s Stony Creek Reservoir Water Quality Report from 2015, and said, “I see no problem with the water quality. Why would our Town officials, looking down the barrel of unknown development demands and unpredictable impacts of global climate change, even consider selling off an asset such as a viable water resource? Most would say it’s unthinkable.
Let’s assume for the moment that the costs to use the reservoir as an emergency water source are for some reason too high, higher even than the cost of using the Albany Colonie Interconnect in an emergency ($50 to 70K per day, not counting all the expenses to connect, so far, according to the Town).
This is a large area of open space, in a rapidly developing region. The water resource and recreational demands here are only growing. People want to be able to recreate outdoors, as we have seen through this COVID crisis. News of the reservoir’s sale has created a lot of interest in Clifton Park and among environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts. Demand for more publicly available open space is strong.
If it is determined that the Stony Creek Reservoir is no longer a viable raw water source for the Latham Water District, and that has yet to be determined, surely far sighted individuals working together can craft a way to preserve the reservoir for potential future use while achieving some public recreational opportunities there, as well.
Learn more about the Stony Creek reservoir and the town’s proposal to sell it on our webpage.