Clayton water bills going up with replacement of century-old pipes

CLAYTON, New York (WWNY) — After a century, Clayton will be upgrading its water main pipes.

Residents in the village have been living with outdated water lines.

“The existing lines are approaching 100 years old. They are cast iron original material lines. They have expansed quite a bit of tuberculation and congestion within the lines, which kind of acts much like your arteries would in a high cholesterol situation,” said Jeff Mosher, Development Authority of the North Country.

The village will be getting a low-cost financing and grant package that adds up to a little more than $8 million from the state.

Mosher and DANC are spearheading the project to replace more than a mile’s worth of piping.

When the project is finished, Clayton Mayor Nancy Hyde believes it will help improve the village.

“Once this project is completed, we will have good water lines throughout the village. We will be up to date with both water and sewer,” she said.

While most of the funding is covered by a grant, the village will have to pay back a loan.

Hyde says the village water bills will go up, but it will be for the greater good.

“We know that people say our water is expensive already. We know that the community will not be happy. But they also have to realize that every day they turn the water on, they have good, clean water every day,” she said.

Mosher says when the project is finished, it will take about an hour to switch the lines so people won’t notice a difference.

“The new line will be run adjacent to the existing line, and with the simple turn of the valve, we will be able to switch those lines and return water to all our customers,” he said.

The project is expected to kick off this fall and continue through the winter.

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