FCI Ray Brook is seen in April 2016. (Enterprise file photo — Antonio Olivero)

LAKE PLACID — The North Elba Town Council has approved funding to drill two test wells in Ray Brook that could kickstart a town effort to provide well water for Ray Brook’s two prisons.

The town council is also moving ahead with its plan to install a new 250,000-gallon water tank on MacKenzie Pond Road for Ray Brook residents, replacing the town’s current 150,000-gallon tank. The town was awarded more than $1.3 million in state funding for the project in 2018, but town Supervisor Derek Doty said the upgrades were delayed as the town waited on the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to approve the prison water project and the town’s tank project together as a way to save money.

“We thought there would be cost savings in the construction end of it by having one big project, which is true, but we just can’t wait any longer,” Doty said.

–

Prison water

–

Adirondack Correctional Facility and FCI Ray Brook currently get their water from stream runoff from Scarface and Haystack mountains, according to Doty. He said that water has to go through a filtration system before the prisons can use it. If the town could source that water through wells instead, the water wouldn’t need to be filtered.

The two test wells will be drilled on a 4-acre municipal lot near the Saranac Lake Golf Club in Ray Brook. Each well would need to pump out at least 300,000 gallons of water a day to service the two prisons, according to Doty, since that’s about how much they use. Doty said the state requires two adjoining wells that produce the same amount of water in case one well stops working for some reason. He noted that the town has spoken with hydrogeologists who believe those wells would use the same aquifer that Saranac Lake uses for its water. If that’s the case, Doty said the wells should pump out plenty of water.

The town is currently on a waiting list for Atlantic Testing Laboratories to perform the test drilling, according to Doty. He said that drilling could happen in four to six weeks.

The town council on Jan. 4 agreed to foot the $14,000 bill for the test wells, but Doty said that once the state Division of the Budget and DOCCS sign off on the project — which he expects to happen soon — the town will be reimbursed for those fees. He said the entire prison water system project would be state-funded.

The town council is moving ahead with the test drills in preparation for the OK from DOCCS. Doty said the council has “wasted” several years keeping pace with DOCCS. He added that as prices on materials for the project have fluctuated, the council and state have had to go back and forth with updated negotiations in a process he said has moved along in “small increments.”

“I’m consistently trying to move them along,” he said of DOCCS. “It’s not that they don’t want this project, it’s just that there’s so many departments that it’s virtually like watching paint dry.”

The town would see some revenue from the prison water system upgrade. Doty isn’t sure how much that revenue will be as the town continues to work on the initial phases of the project, but that “it will be great revenue, that’s for sure.”

–

New tank

–

The Essex County Health Department has been asking the town to assess its current 150,000-gallon water tank, according to Doty. He said it’s not in good shape, and that’s part of the reason why the town council is forging ahead with the water projects. He said the town “can’t take the chance” that the current reservoir tank is past where the ECHD wants it to be.

Department of Public Works Superintendent Brad Hathaway said the tank isn’t a health hazard, but that the structure of the tank is past its useful stage.

The town is currently working with an engineer to put the upgrade project out for bid, “probably in March,” according to Doty.

He said the new tank wouldn’t necessarily bring the town added revenue, but that the added 100,000-gallon capacity would allow the town to serve more people, should the need for water service grow.

“In that sense, it’s a smart move to prepare for the future,” he said.

The town is expected to use its nearly $1.4 million grant to fund construction of the new tank, and Doty said the town will have to pay for a portion of the build. As of Monday, Doty wasn’t sure how much the town would have to pay. North Elba Budget Officer Catherine Edman was not immediately available for comment by press time.