Glen Head Town Hall Planned Over New York American Water

SOURCE:

https://patch.com/new-york/glencove/glen-head-town-hall-planned-over-new-york-american-water

A town hall meeting is planned in Glen Head this week, where residents can ask questions about efforts to replace New York American Water.

GLEN HEAD, NY — A town hall meeting is planned this week in Glen Head where members of the community can ask questions about efforts to replace New York American Water.

The meeting, organized by local civic groups, is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium of North Shore High School, located near Glen Cove Avenue and Plymouth Drive South.

Several area lawmakers are expected to attend, George Pombar, of the Glen Head Glenwood Landing Civic Council, wrote in a Facebook post. He did not name the lawmakers.

"This Town Hall meeting is solely dedicated to answer questions from our community on the progress being made on seeking Public Municipal water for our community," the organization wrote. 

The civic council oversees nine local civic groups dedicated to serving the needs of residents in Glen Head and Glenwood Landing towns. The organization has said the meeting would not be about speeches. The goal is to inform the community on what's happening where things stand on moving away from New York American Water.

In June, the council said a feasibility study — a required step for residents to seek local municipalities to become the new water supplier — would be conducted "shortly." The ultimate goal is to find a water provider at a "reasonable" price.

The meeting comes two weeks after a comprehensive analysis conducted by the Citizens Campaign for the Environment showed that New York American Water Customers pay more than anyone else on Long Island.

North Shore-Sea Cliff family of four who use the EPA average of 10,000 gallons of water per month pays about $1,124 a year for water. In contrast, if the same family got their water from the city of Glen Cove, they'd expect to pay about $283 a year for water.

"NY American Water rates are confusing, and they have some of the most expensive water rates on Long Island," the authors of the analysis said. "All drinking water on Long Island needs to be controlled by public municipalities and priced fairly for all consumers."

Patch has reached out to the council and the water company and will update when we hear back.