I wonder if the Aqua Inc. water company is actually for sale, or did they violate some type of health regulation. Kind of disturbing that the government can come in and just "takeover" a private buisiness.

Burglars have not "prayed" on vulnerable senior citizens, they have "preyed" on vulnerable senior citizens.

We need to do somet thing about Aqua soon, nobody can believe the my water bill for two months and working all the time what my cost is. They have been talking about this for more then two years and action needs to be taken qyickly. They are moving way to slow

I cant imagine a water bill of that sizr. OUTRAGEOUS!
I own a split level house in Massapequa with two adults living in it.
I volunteered to pay the water bill for my Ex who still lives there. I'm a real sport. The South Farmingdale Water Co. bill averages $11, and that's per quarter.
Maybe the Aqua customers take too many showers or leave their lawn sprinklers on during a rainstorm.
So with an annual outlay of under $50 for good clean water, I'll thank my Town Spervisor, John Venditto. Maybe he has something to do with that.

If i ever saw a water bill under $40 PER MONTH i would be thrilled !
HOWEVER, YOU dont have SEAFORD WATER, With rust and other "stuff" being dispersed, lower pressure at times and the asbolute certainty that there is definitely SOMTHING in the water that effects rational and logical thought all of which we pay dearly for!
We have Special EXPENSIVE water...Arent YOU jealous?

Aqua has been ripping us off for too long now...they need to GOOOOO!

As long as they leave West Hempstead Hempstead Gardens water company alone! We have an efficiently run little water company that keeps our rates low and our water quality good. Our only problem is an overproduction of iron that causes brown flecks to appear in our boiled water. We put an inexpensive whole house filter in an that has eliminated that problem somewhat!

Aqua Water is a STOCK MARKET COMPANY comitted to making profits from its customers. Water companies should not be in the business of making profits from water. Aqua bought this company from NY Water which had a guaranteed return of 12% . Havent heard much about Aqua's return profit rate lately. We shoud know that. When the takeover takes place these profits can be used to lower rates and improve the water systems for everybody. We all will do better without a Wall Street Stock Market Company continually asking for huge rate increases to increase their profit margins. I hope everyone votes for the takeover of Aqua. I hope everyone votes to lower their water bill.

Hey. Dont complain. Maybe your water bill will go down to $11/quarter like mine.
But with my property taxes ridiculously high...maybe the highest rate on LI, it could be that I am subsidizing South Farmingdale Water Co through my property taxes, so I'm getting bilked just like you guys.

Eddie:

The LIRR is actually the largest commuter railroad in North America. They do pretty well, actually. Having commuted for years I find that they have gotten cleaner and more efficient than they used to be.

There are a couple of points which Claudia Borecky is on very shaky ground.

One is the huge leap of faith that, if the Authority takes over AQUA, then our water bills will decrease in any meaningful way, meaning, we would pay less for water than the amount our homeowner school taxes will increase to make up for the school taxes AQUA presently pays.

Another error is her false presumption that school taxes paid by AQUA have anything to do the providing water service, instead of the actual fact that AQUA owns ratable property in those school districts.

If Ms. Borecky is going to cut-and-paste her posts across several Patch articles, then why not also include the discussion about, or at least make mention of PILOTs (Payments in lieu of taxes) as we follow this story?

The final slice of baloney is the notion that the Authority possesses a box of silver bullets for use after the takeover: one to improve water quality, one to improve water pressure, and the rest to magically lower the cost of operating, maintaining, repairing, and replacing over time our ancient water system.

I rest my case on the fact that this takeover has been studied twice in the past, both times with findings that the takeover would not accomplish the intended goal of reducing water bills (while offsetting the property taxes shifted from AQUA to homeowner). The basic equation has not changed, only the system has aged more.

As far as school taxes is concerned, I reiterate that it will cost the average homeowner $30 more a year to make up the $64,000 that Aqua pays to North Merrick. I never said that the school taxes Aqua pays has anything to do with the water - it does have to do with property it owns, but the fact is that New York Water NEVER paid school taxes to districts it didn't serve. Period. The attorney will decide if we will need to pay PILOTS or not. However, you are wrong to say that studies prove that we won't save money by acquiring Aqua. In 2007, a comprehensive study was done and it did find that even with having to pay PILOTs, we will save a small amont of money in the beginning and a significant amount of money after a few years. Those are the facts. To say today that we are in the same boat that we were 20 years ago is just not true. For one thing, it wasn't until 2010 that our water company was even allowed to pass 100% of its tax bill onto the customers. Our water rates went up 12% in the past 2 years so the new study should show that we'll find significant savings from the onset. So Mr. Wendt, the basic equation has changed. You are comparing apples to oranges. The fact is that public water and private water systems cost approx. the same amount to operate ($12-$16 million). However, in 2012 we will pay to Aqua $43 million so they can continue to provide their stockholders with record profits. There is no silver bullet, but a public authority will save us money.

And here I first thought that the Town was taking over the Aqua Condo on Shore Rd.
Gotta read past these misleading headlines.

Why don't we let the study play out and see if there really is any justification for a public takeover. Then we can also learn the plans, or lack of plans to require PILOTs to the school districts.

Ultimately, if there is a takeover, but no reduction in water rates but only an increase in homeowner school taxes, then that will be on Claudia Borecky to explain away.

Of course the example of North Merrick and the supposed $30 tax increase is of no consequence to Seaford or Wantagh. And everyone who lives in North Merrick also lives in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, and those school taxes will also be going up.

I believe the school tax revenue loss exposure is greater still in Wantagh than in North Merrick, but noticeably absent from any of the comparisons put forth in this discussion. That, and the "how" the government can run the water works more efficiently than Aqua, also being blatantly ignored all the while the County is desperately trying to privatize the sewage treatment plants.

Remarkable that Patch does not find out and report the school tax revenue loss exposure to all the various school districts served by Aqua.

Maybe it would be to your advantage for South Farmingdale Water Co to buy out Aqua, then you can enjoy $11/quarter water bills AND get tax revenue from the private company too.

I just checked out the SFWC. They've been supplying good clean water for 80 years on Langdon Rd. in Farmingdale. The district is 5.4 square miles covering parts of Farmingdale, Bethpage, and N. Massapequa.
I dont know how they can provide metered water for $11 for 3 months, while Aqua customets claim to be paying around $100 a month. What gives here?

WOW people actually use a hose to fill up their pools, I thought most pools around here were filled in the dead of nite, with people huddle around the hydrant @ 3am and dont look at me i dont have a pool!
however that being said when soeone does fill their pool with metered water the bill strikes fear in the hearts of many ..and it isnt a $100 bill by any means...

...sigh. People are completely ignoring the fact that all Water Districts not only charge you via a traditional bill for your usage, but ALSO assess you on your TAX BILL. Look at your TAX BILLS, folks. A Water District is like a Fire District or a Sanitation District. So, the $11/month does NOT INCLUDE the fees charged on your TAX BILL. Please educate yourselves.

Aqua is NOT a Water District so it bills you ONLY via a direct bill, NOT on your tax bill.

FYI.

Im not sure if Im getting a great deal or not. I did check my last water bill and saw that the house used 111 gallons per day, at a cost of 10.8 cents per day. Multiply that by 90 days in the billing cycle, plus some added fees and you get a bill of $11 for 3 months of water useage.
Haven't checked my Town tax bill yet.

Ok guys I checked out my Town bill and found that I was charged $143 for 6 months for the So Farm Water Dist. Still not as bad as Aqua, and my house is assessed at an outageously high rate.
Thanks for the help on this.

lloyd-
unless you have a gold coast mansion,horse farm in old brookville, or 20 people in your house each taking 3 showers a day and 10 loads of laundry, how on earth can you use 111 gallons in one 24 hr day? guess you have the old hi-flow showerheads and those old water gobbling toilets.

my usage is less than half that.

not to defend any of the other water companies, but 10.8 cents per DAY seems low. LIPA charges by the HOUR.

Only two working adults in that house. And tbe water use is on a meter. No pool. No lawn sprinklers. No car washing. And both adults drink bottled water, and have only two bathrooms. But with a water useage bill of $11 for 3 months, should I complain?
N

lloyd-
its not your $11 every 90 days bill i was questioning its your GPD- gallions per day.
are you sure that the water meter isn't on double overdrive? ( inaccurate)

@ Chris Wendt...exaggerated claims about how high water bills are? Have you even spoken to anyone in Wantagh about how high our water bills are since Aqua's takeover? As a 20 year resident of Wantagh, I can tell you that our water bills went from $30.00 - $40.00 every 2 months with NY Water to $200.00 - $300.00 per month since Aqua's takeover, with no reasonable explanation as to why. We are conservative with our water use, we do not have a sprinkler system, we are not filling a pool with our hose, there are 3 of us...yes we shower daily, no we don't take 30 minute showers. Aqua has made improvements, yes, each one's cost was passed on to us, the ratepayer. As a monopoly they have put no money into their own company but rely on us, the ratepayers to bear the cost. As concerned citizens we attend all of the meetings concerning this issue (Water Authority) we have never seen you at any of these meetings, but Claudia Borecky has been there from the start, fighting for us. Thank you Claudia, keep up the good fight!

Icarumba...
I rechecked my water bill and it states that 10,000 gal. were metered measured for the last 90 day period. They average it out to 111.1 gal/day, and by around .11/day.
Multiply .11 x 90 days equals $10.00 + $1.30 "other charges". equals $11.00+.
I cant imagine these two 55+ people using 111 gal/day, but thats what the outside meter supposedly reads. I could check it out, check around for leaks, or ask how often and for how long the two people shower. Maybe even get them to dhower together??

Re: " As far as privatizing the sewage treatment plants, we are forming a county-wide coalition to address that issue. If you'd like to join us, please let me know."

Depends upon the coalition of whom, and what is meant by "to address that issue". Please tell me more at chriswendt117@gmail.com and consider me initially interested and at least intellectually curious. Thanks.

lloyd,
it still doesn't seem right.
is your water meter analog (dial) like the very first ones nyc installed or is it digital?
is there any chances that any of your neighbors water lines taps your main from the street and or crossed into yours?

i had a relative whose con ed bills were ridiculous- children,no lawn,no pool,no car they finally found out that,being in a four family- there were 2 meters for the whole property. turns out that those in units 2&4 were paying for units 1&3. so the whole place had to be rewired and a meter was installed for each individual unit.
i would contact both the water company and the appropriate water district.its not the $$ its the usage.
i just cannot see a household like yours using that much water in a year, let alone every 90 days.

Ok. I'll check into it. I'll ask the water company to re check the meter.
111 gallons per day does seem a lot, but how much would you say would be more reasonable?
Thanks for your advice. Maybe there is a problem there.

Icarumba....I just got off the phone with the So. Farm. Water Co. They were extremely helpful.
They told me that 111 gal/day is considered very low useage. The average customer useage is closer to 200 gal/day, with some customers using up to 1000 gal/day.
They DO read the meter every 3 months and nobody is stealing my water, nor is it leaking out somewhere under my house.
My lawn is usually very pale green or brown, and the two cars parked there are covered with dew and soot, while my high water billed neighbors have lush, bright green lawns and sparkling clean vehicles.
Which is your preference?

All other things being equal, $1 added to my property tax bill is better than $1 paid to Aqua due to the tax deduction generated.

Anyone under AQUA now knows that the water bill increased greatly since they were in power. Chris is very right wing, based on previous posts, so his thought process is that government cannot possibly bring down your bill. AQUA is a publicly traded company that will cost more money to tax payers. Watch what happens to the LI buses under private ownership. They will increase rates and decrease services. My brother lives in East Meadow and pays half of what I pay for water under AQUA.

lloyd-
i was taught that water is a precious resource not to be wasted.
that being the case,i personally can live with a lawn that isnt a lush,bright green.
i do try to keep my vehicle as clean as possible but use my local friendly car wash instead of a garden hose lol.

ssteacher-

agree with your post. yes LIPA's rates are around 15-20% less than LILCO; but they were started with BORROWED $$$ that will eventually come due.

also agree about LI buses. with far less subsidies from the county than the MTA. i also expect service cuts and a large fare hike in 2013.

looks like water is the current hot-button issue for the south shore. whatever happened to the old adage,"
if it aint broke leave it alone".

Icarumba....I think I got to the bottom of the water useage debate by questioning my Ex today.
Here's how it went down......"Not for nothin', Honey, but how do you and that guy use 111 gallons of water a day"?
Her response..."Its really not your business, but we like to take long showers".

lloyd-
why on earth are you paying her water bill? that's total BS.
let her and boy toy pay the moolah.
as long as you are the sugar daddy they'll run that water morning noon and nite, like niagara falls going full blast.
as my name suggests," AY CARUMBA"
indeed. :(

No. Its not quite like that.
I dont want to explain the whole story here for the public to read.
But my Ex and I worked out a fair deal for both of us.
The man living there (in a separate part of the house) is NOT her boyfriend or lover and he pays his way.
OK. I pay more bills than I have to, but I dont want to hurt the woman, and I have two grown children who are concerned about their Mom and their Dad too.
Its not worth quibbling over a $3.33/month water bill.
If we had Aqua Water I would make a big issue of the useage.