BY ADAM ATKINSON

North Country This Week

POTSDAM — The town board has passed two local laws governing the Route 56 water and sewer districts which are being developed along the busy corridor north of town.

The laws were approved by the town board in early May, and establish rules for construction of service lines to residential and commercial buildings and for sewer connections to the main district lines provided by the town.

The local laws also set sewer rents, or annual charges that district residents will need to pay, and water service rates.

Both districts were approved by the town and district voters in 2021. The town had sought to set up the districts for several years to facilitate more commercial development along Route 56.

At the May town board meeting, Jay Berkman of the Canton engineering firm C2ae which is designing and constructing the district infrastructure, said work is progressing on the districts.

The firm is currently working on responses to the state Department of Environmental Conservation on the preliminary engineering report for the districts. In addition, the proposed easement maps for the districts have been sent to the town’s legal counsel for the district, Roger Linden, for processing and mailing to individual property owners in the district for review.

Berkman said the firm’s surveyor has started a topographic survey to site a water storage tank for the water district, and a set of sewer district engineering drawings have been submitted to the state Department of Transportation for review.

The two laws by the town passed at the May meeting, lay out how district residents and businesses will be able to connect into the district lines for sewer and water.

The law dealing with the water district states that no resident will be able to connect to the main district water line without town approval. Service lines will be at least 4-feet deep. Other specifications are laid out in the law, including pipe material, guidelines for water meters, and distance to residences.

The law also sets up a chart for what constitutes an equivalent dwelling unit on properties to be billed, the rates for billing and who repairs will be handled and who will be responsible.

The law governing the sewer district is similar, dictating specifications for connection to the sewer line and other residential engineering concerns that could have an impact on public health.

The sewer law also sets forth a plan for sewer rents, and construction permits as well as maintenance guidelines.

When the multi-year project is complete, the total cost of construction and design of the two districts is expected to exceed $10 million.