Water Watch NYC

Everything you need to know about water in NYC.


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NYC Water and Sewer Rates Go Up by 4.9%

NYC is joining the rest of the country in promoting inflation.

On June 6th, the Water Board met to raise water rates by 4.9%, effective July 1st. This may surprise New Yorkers who have grown accustomed to minimal increases during the de Blasio administration.

The new rate will be $4.30 for water and $6.84 for sewer, for a total of $11.14.

We expect the 2023 increase to be even larger, spurred by high interest rates on the Water Board’s huge deb load.

June 6, 2022 Meeting Materials – https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycwaterboard/downloads/pdf/public_notices/wb-meeting-materials-6-6-22.pdf


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NYC Water and Sewer Rate Increase

    The DEP held a public water board meeting on Friday April 29th and proposed a 4.9% water rate increase, citing lower consumption and water bills not being paid. Consumers will be shocked, as there has been minimal increases in recent years, and this would be the LARGEST increase that we have seen in some time. We predict that the DEP will reduce the increase from 4.9% to 4.7%.

    The meeting also included measures to increase the late payment fee, and an increase in capital construction funding by 21%. There will be public hearings held in the coming months with rate updates and revisions for NYC.


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    Good News: Low-income families will receive assistance paying water bills

    Governor Kathy Hochul announced that $69.8 million in federal funds will be made available to support low-income New Yorkers in paying past-due bills for drinking water and wastewater. The Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), provides eligible applicants with “up to $2,500 for drinking water arrears and $2,500 for wastewater arrears to help them avoid service interruptions when the moratorium on shutoffs expires next month.”

    This initiative will assist approximately 105,000 homes within New York.

    According to Governor Hochul, the program was created to help struggling New Yorkers recover from the pandemic. Anyone who is interested can simply apply online.

    Ashokan Water Services Contributed to this report


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    Kathryn Garcia – The Environmental Candidate

    New York City mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia

    With the Democratic Mayoral primaries fast approaching, we at Ashokan Water have environmental concerns on the forefront of our minds. While many of the candidates have taken the time to address the environmental issues facing the City; none are as well versed with the issues as Kathryn Garcia. Ms. Garcia has spent her career within government working on the city’s largest environmental issues. Her work for our City speaks for itself.  Having held several positions in the NYC Department of Environmental Protection under Mayor Bloomberg, Kathryn Garcia was tasked with overseeing The Bureau of Water Supply, the Bureau of Water and Sewer Operations, and the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment. In later years, Ms. Garcia went on to become the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Sanitation where she again tackled the city’s environmental issues. Garcia helped to pass the city’s waste equity law (in 2018) helping distribute the waste burden on the city’s communities equally and not more heavily on lower income communities as had previously been the case. 

    The change that Kathryn Garcia has implemented in our city proves that she truly understands and cares about environmental protection and conservation within our city. Other candidates speak about the environment, but Garcia is a true technocrat, and clearly the environmental candidate to rally behind.


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    Why the Taste of NYC Water May Change in 2022

    Our friend Charles Sturcken of the DEP recently explained why water tastes different in different parts of New York City, and why the taste may change in 2022.

    Neighborhoods in New York City receive their drinking water from reservoirs of the Catskill System, Croton System, Delaware System, or a combination of the three systems. The chemistry of each water source is different because of the underlying geology that surrounds our reservoirs in the Catskills and the Hudson Valley. Differences in bedrock and soil affect pH, alkalinity, calcium content and other chemical characteristics of our drinking water. Water consumers will generally not notice these small differences. However, those who use New York City water to operate industrial equipment and mechanical systems might notice that changes in water chemistry require adjustments to their treatment systems, maintenance regiments and other upkeep routines.

    Croton Distribution into Manhattan & Bronx with Pumping to Queens
    A map of where different water sources supply different neighborhoods in New York City.

    From the end of May until October, the DEP expects the reservoir and distribution systems to be in their normal operating condition. That configuration will likely change in October when the DEP shuts the Catskill Aqueduct for the final year of a rehabilitation project that will keep the century-old aqueduct in good working order for the next 100 years. Continued updates of the water distribution maps and other information can be found at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dep/water/current-water-distribution.page .


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    NYC Water Board Announces Rate And Interest Increase Effective July 1st, 2021

    The New York City Water Board met to propose changes to the Water & Sewer Rate Schedule to be effective July 1st, 2021. The meeting took place via teleconference on Monday May 10th at 9 AM, and was attended by Board Members Alfonso Carney, Dr. Demetrius Carolina, Sr., Evelyn Fernandez-Ketcham, Adam Freed, Jonathan Goldin, Jukay Hsu, and Arlene Shaw.

    One Student's Debt | University of Virginia School of Law
    Water Board Member Alfonso Carney

    The Board announced that rates would increase by 2.76%, after years with no increase. The rate increase wasn’t unexpected, as the DEP has incurred additional cost due to Covid while consumption dropped reducing revenue. it As expected, for the eighth year in a row the deadline to file paperwork for the Multi-family Conservation Program was extended once again. This time they blamed the extension on Covid.

    The most significant financial change announced was that the interest rates for late payments involving certain properties would increase from 5% to 18%. According to the Board, a two-tier interest rate had been in effect based upon the valuation of the property, but the 5% rate was the only one that was enforceable due to computer program limitations. With the upcoming launch of new software, the DEP is now able to apply the 18% interest rate to certain properties, as well as keep the 5% rate for others.

    Two public hearings will be held on June 1st and 2nd at 12 PM and 6 PM, respectively, via conference call. Interested parties can call (347) 921-5612 with the access code: 107 181 687, or email comments to nycwaterboard@dep.nyc.gov by 4 PM the day before the hearing.

    Not bad news for this crazy year.


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    DEP Holds Important Meeting When Everyone Is On Vacation

    On December 31st, the DEP held a virtual meeting to discuss Title 15, Chapter 20 of the Rules of the City of New York (RCNY), allowing attendees to voice their comments and concerns. Despite the meeting being held at a time when many people typically take time off, Hershel Weiss attended, and submitted a summation of his thoughts to the DEP afterwards, which you can read below:

    My name is Hershel Weiss. I am a mechanical engineer, NYC Master Licensed Plumber, Past President of American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), member of Building Owners and Managers (BOMA) Plumbing Committee,   principal at Ashokan, a firm specializing in Meter Reading and Backflow Testing. I have represented ASPE at the NYC Plumbing Code Adoption committee since its inceptions. 

     I cannot intelligently discuss the proposed modifications to RCNY chapter 20 of Title 15 in three minutes but would like to discuss the process.  A committee exists to review the NYC Plumbing Code, comprising members of the DOB, FDNY,  Con- Ed, National Grid, HPD,  Housing Authority, SCA, Parks Department, Port Authority, REBNY, BOMA,  Master Plumbers Council, Plumbing Foundation, American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), American Society of Sanitary Engineers,  ASHRAE, all the plumbing unions and the largest plumbing and MEP firms, and the DEP.  We meet to discuss and propose all plumbing code changes. The meetings are well-attended, conducted in a cordial manner and result in a well thought out regulations and buildings codes. This process used to apply to both the Plumbing code and RCNY Chapter 20 of Title 15 , but  the DEP has circumvented the process –  as being done today.

    I cannot highlight the importance of a committee meeting to discuss each and every modification proposed today,  but would like to touch on one sample issue. Years ago, the DEP had a plumbing and subsurface committee. At that committee, the DEP proposed requiring curb valves for domestic services under 2” as is being proposed today. At that time the following objections were raised:

    1. Real estate interest and homeowners was opposed to the cost estimated as an increase of 20- 35% in the price of water main replacement since an additional excavation would have to be created in the sidewalk. I am sure these parties are still opposed to the curb valve requirement, but have not been informed of this hearing. Furthermore, does the water board know that their water main insurance will increase by a third?
    2. The Parks Department was concerned about tree pits.
    3. Landmarks wanted an exemption where streets have bluestone pavers.
      1. None of these concerns are address in this modification

    This is a simple item affecting multiple stakeholders. Other modification being proposed are much more complicated and warrant a conversation with all stakeholders.

    I recommend that the proposed changes be shelved until a committee is convened to review each modification. I called many of the members of NYC’s Plumbing Code committee and they were not aware of today’s meeting. It is time for the DEP to stop operating in the dark.  Modifications to the law should not take place in meetings restricted to 3 minutes on New Year’s Eve.

    Warren Liebold – We Will Miss You.

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    We are saddened to hear the news of Warren Liebold’s passing on August 20th. Warren was a colleague, friend, and mentor to all of us at Ashokan. Nothing happened in the field of water conservation without his involvement. We first met when I was working for HPD and Warren was brought on by then DEP Commissioner Al Appleton to promote a new DEP rebate program. I assumed it would go nowhere. A year later it grew into the largest water conservation program in the United States, and as a result, water consumption plummeted in NYC. He realized that greater reductions could be obtained by holding property owners responsible for their consumption, and rolled NYC’s water meter installation program. He then decided to provide consumers with transparency tools to monitor consumption and created New York’s Automatic Meter reading Program. Due to his perseverance, everything he did was a great success. 

    In 1997, I discussed opening a water services company with him and he recommended that I name it “Ashokan”. 

    For twenty years, we discuss food and film, but I was awed by Warren’s encyclopedic knowledge of water conservation. Everyone in the industry knew that if you attended a water conservation seminar, Warren would be speaking and announcing a new program. No building code relating to water took place without Warren. We worked together on NYC’s Adoption of the International Plumbing Code, The Mayor’s Green Code Task Force, Water Reuse guidelines, etc. If you live in NYC and take the water for granted, you owe a debt of gratitude to Warren Liebold. He will be missed. 


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    DEP Killing Financial Transparency

    On August 13th, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (or DEP) announced the decision to deny public access to the Customer Information System (or CIS), despite the fact that it has allowed that access for over 30 years. This change in policy is set to go into effect on September 13th. According to the DEP, the service is being shut down due to the outdated nature of the system’s technology. However, no replacement for the system has been brought forward, and the DEP will continue to use the service themselves.  What has been touted as a necessary technological update appears to be a thinly veiled excuse to deny access to vital water billing information to the general public, with the only beneficiary being the DEP.

    Currently, CIS provides water billing information for New York City properties going back to 1986. What makes this service so important is that water billing errors at a property can be readily identified based on the data that has been collected over those years. Once an error has been identified, an appeal can be written to correct and reduce the bill. However, without the ability to check for these errors in CIS, the DEP would be the only entity with this information, completely compromising any kind of consumer protection. In future water bill disputes, property owners will have to simply accept whatever ruling the DEP gives, and will have no evidence in their corner to try to reduce the bill. The DEP could simply ignore any data available only to them and determine that an incorrect bill was correct, with property owners having no way of disputing it. This change in policy creates a broken system that wipes away all billing transparency, and more or less incentivizes the DEP to legitimize incorrect water bills at the cost of New York City property owners.  

    Withholding this information would also have a large impact on the sale of properties in the area, as prospective buyers and sellers would have limited knowledge on what regular water billing and usage would look like for a property. This type of data is definitely something that would have an effect on the value of a property. The lack of data would leave buyers in the dark or mislead them when attempting to make a purchase, and could make selling properties unnecessarily difficult.

    It is absolutely clear that the only entity benefiting by this change would be the DEP, as any unchecked billing errors would put money in its pocket, to the direct detriment of the consumers. Not only would this affect current property owners, but members of the real estate industry would be left in the dark in terms of gathering important information regarding the properties they’re working with.  It would be a shame for such a blatantly one sided policy change to go into effect, considering the vast number of people who would be disenfranchised by the change.  The DEP claims that this is an unfortunate but necessary change due to outdated technology, but the fact that the technology will remain the same and the DEP will continue to use CIS tells a different story.   


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    Intro 1253 doesn’t consider water conservation – but you can

    In December 2018, the New York City Council Committee on Environmental Protection met at City Hall to amend the administrative code of the City of New York in relation to the commitment to achieve certain reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (Introduction No. 1253), establishing a sustainable energy loan program (Introduction No. 1252), and to a building energy efficiency grade (Introduction No. 1251). The full report can be accessed online, but in short, the clock is ticking fast to combat climate change in New York City. Our buildings contribute 70% of the city’s total carbon emissions, and the time for change is long overdue.

    In 2009, Local Law 87 was supposed to mandate retrofits in large, high energy consuming buildings. The law was weakened, and instead became a voluntary retro-commissioning program. De Blasio “used retrofit to win” his position as Mayor, according to councilmembers, and attempted to make a voluntary program work – but it didn’t. Now, a full decade later, time is up. We lost this decade of potential progress due to pushback from the real estate industry.  However, there is now overwhelming support for Introductions 1253, 1253, and 1251, and as the largest city in the country, it is New York’s moral obligation to do as much as we can.

    Although these amendments are being presented and Local Law 87 never saw the success it was hoped to, it is important to acknowledge that the voluntary retro-commissioning program resulted in a 15% drop in carbon emissions over the past decade. However, with the new IPCC report, we know that a 15% decrease over 10 years isn’t going to cut it. New York City’s carbon reduction goals are to achieve a 40% decrease by 2030, and an 80% decrease by 2050. With the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions being heating/ cooling and electric use, large buildings must be targeted first.

    “Can a letter go out to the Trump International Building?” said a member of the committee, which was met with laughs and applause. “They don’t believe in climate change, but it’s real,” he continued. It is an unfortunate reality that at such a critical time to make huge changes to protect the future of our homes, cities, countries, and planet, the current administration is turning a blind eye to impending disaster. That’s why New York has stepped up to remain compliant with international environmental agreements such as the Paris Agreement.

    Kinks in compliance were still being worked out by the Department of Buildings at the hearing last December. What we do know is that annual audits of energy use will be mandatory, as well as sub-metering non-residential tenants. Mandatory auditing is a huge step- and I see no reason to stop at energy. The NYC Retrofit Accelerator and Community Retrofit NYC programs both helped identify energy and water saving retrofits, yet “water” language is otherwise absent from today’s efficiency conversation. Decreasing water consumption leads to decreasing energy consumption, and the two utilities should not be separated in conservation efforts as they often are. Representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection, which is New York City’s water utility provider, were present at the public hearing, yet there was no discussion of mandating audits or sub-metering for water usage.

    Furthermore, there are reasons beyond the 2050 carbon emission cut goals to reduce water usage, such as the impending Delaware Aqueduct shutdown or CSO mitigation in our waterways. The more water we use, the more water we have to manage, which poses real infrastructure issues. The tools exist and are readily available to tackle water consumption the way the city is about to tackle energy consumption, and I see no excuse to ignore the issue. As we know, any and all action to reduce our carbon footprint can help in the race against a disastrous future. And the race is getting tight.

    The last update on the status of Intro 1253 was that it was returned unsigned by the Mayor on May 20, 2019.  In the meantime, building owners and property managers can fight on the front lines of the climate battle by engaging in conservation practices for both water and energy. There are plenty of tools and consultants out there to help – such as us at Ashokan Water Services.  For any noble real estate or sustainability professionals reading this, check out our monitoring, auditing, and sub-metering services.

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    Allegra Miccio