February 2022 the Livingston County Board of Supervisors authorized the Livingston County Water and Sewer Authority (“Authority”) to develop a water supply project to benefit the communities impacted by the AkzoNobel salt mine collapse. These municipalities are primarily the Towns of Leicester and York and secondarily the Towns of Geneseo, Mt. Morris and Avon. For the past several months the Authority, and its engineering consultants have been working diligently on the planning and development of this regional water supply project.
As a result, the Authority has recently proposed the Leicester/York Regional Water Supply Expansion Project (“Project”) to achieve the County’s interest in providing enhanced public drinking water infrastructure for the Towns of Leicester and York, as well as supporting regional interests of providing greater access to affordable safe drinking water for all participating municipalities.
The Authority has recently issued an Engineering Report (see below) providing an overview and recommendation for the regional water project. This report focuses on potable water supply, transmission, distribution, and storage required to provide increased capacity and reliable drinking water to the impacted communities. This initial planning phase examined multiple alternatives while considering several variables including cost, customer gain, water rates, potential development, energy efficiency, as well as the potential for intermunicipal cooperation to provide water to as many residents as possible.