Monday, May 14, 2007

Finally a little good news on water front

The fines the federal government has been imposing on DEP (and hence water rate payers) should hopefully stop now that a new main contractor is supposedly in place at the filtration plant. A Swedish construction company, Skanska, has announced on its website, that it will be constructing the plant for $1.04 billion (the total contract amount is $1.3 billion, of which Skanska has 80% and Tully Construction has the remaining 20%).

According to the press release:
The project starts later this summer. Construction work is scheduled to be
completed in 50 months and the start-up phase is expected to take an additional
six months. This is Skanska’s largest project ever in the U.S. The second
largest is the New Meadowlands Stadium being built for the New York Jets and New
York Giants. This contract amount is USD 998 M.

In other news, NYC Comptroller William Thompson has submitted a letter to the Water Board showing how projected rate hikes can be lowered by adjusting how the City uses the rental payment it received from DEP -- part as "pay as you go" captial financing and the other part as a return to rate payers. While it won't drop future rate hikes much, it's a step in the right direction, and will probably have better results in the long run.
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1 comment:

  1. KarenMay 19, 2007 at 1:15:00 AM EDT

    One reason for water rates is to encourage water conservation; the program worked. Everyone is conscious of how much water is used, and they try to use less. Low flow toilets were installed, with a rebate from the NYC DEP (paid for out of water fees). Others turn off the water when brushing teeth.

    So we used less water, but the DEP needed more money to pay for their construction. What do other states do? Raise the rate? Or impose a higher rate on those that use more water?

    Here in NYC we should choose the option that promotes conservation.

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