Syracuse Water Budget Hearing for 2026-04-28: Infrastructure, Rates, and Lead Service Lines
Syracuse Water Budget Hearing Summary
On April 28, 2026, the Syracuse City Council held a Division of Water Budget Hearing from approximately 18:56 UTC. Council members included Petrona Joe Rausa, Helen Hudson, Donna Moore, Martinave, and President Rida Paniawa, along with the Water Commissioner and staff. The hearing focused on the Water Department's recent accomplishments, the proposed 4% water rate increase, staffing challenges, and major infrastructure projects.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were recorded.
Department Overview & Accomplishments
- 415 water main repairs were completed this year, including breaks and leaks (not including fire hydrant replacements).
- The Bose Gatehouse Valve, broken closed for ~15 years, was repaired in-house at a much lower cost than originally budgeted in the CIP. This repair alone is estimated to bring 1.5 million gallons more water per day into the city.
- Morningside tanks were brought back online, restoring 8 million gallons of storage capacity.
- The transmission path from Skaneateles Lake to Syracuse was inspected; every valve and blow-off was operated. Two valves remain broken closed on the conduits and are scheduled for replacement this year.
- Inflow to the city increased from 39–40 MGD (million gallons per day) to 43–45 MGD, improving reservoir fill rates and water pressure.
- 1,200+ lead service lines were replaced in the last year (public side). The department is on target to continue lead replacements for the next 15 years.
- Forest Hill Drive (historically 6–7 breaks per winter) and Seely Road (historically 4–5 breaks per year) had zero breaks this winter after main replacements.
- Guilford Pump Station is operational, with no shutdowns affecting the daycare on Kimber this year.
- The department successfully transitioned to Syracuse Workforce Central for timekeeping and payroll.
Water Rate Increase Proposal
- A proposed 4% water rate increase was discussed, projected to cost the average minimal-use household about $7 per year. Heavy users would see a larger increase.
- Councilor Hudson questioned why the increase was 4% rather than 8%, noting that doubling the increase to $14 per year could fund more infrastructure improvements and help prevent lead contamination. Commissioner responded that affordability for low-income residents was a concern, and that 4% was a starting point—future increases may be considered.
- It was noted that Syracuse water rates remain among the lowest in the region and the country.
- The revenue from the increase goes directly into the water infrastructure fund to cover rising chemical costs (chlorine, orthophosphate) and the lead service line replacement program.
- Past increases: 2% in 2024; no increase in 2025.
Budget & Personnel Highlights
- Vacancies: The department has 15 vacancies, with about 10 requiring CDL drivers. Commissioner attributed the national CDL driver shortage to federal testing requirements for marijuana, which remains illegal federally, discouraging many young adults from obtaining CDL licenses.
- New positions:
- Public Information Officer (PIO) – to manage social media, combat misinformation, and publicize water main breaks, lead line replacement areas, and other updates.
- Instrumentation Mechanic – required by EPA and NYS Department of Health to manage and calibrate turbidity meters, flow meters, UV plant equipment. Not funded by grants; solely department-funded.
- Equipment Maintenance Supervisor – replaces the heavy equipment crew leader to handle ordering, auctions, and vehicle readiness.
- Water Maintenance Worker I – four new positions, converting former Laborer II positions, to provide flexible staffing (some with CDLs, some without).
- Professional services increases (pages 180, 184) were attributed to state-mandated programs: cross-connection control (a 2008 law the city had not complied with) and lead testing/sampling.
- Infrastructure fee (page 13) is separate from the 4% increase; it is charged to new developments requiring sprinkler systems, coordinating with the fire department for backflow prevention.
- Insurance recoveries dropped from $75,000 to $10,000; the department is working with legal to improve recovery for damaged hydrants.
- Sale of water is projected to increase by 4% (residential and commercial). The aquarium will purchase water at the same rate as other customers.
Discussion on Operations & Future Projects
- Lead replacement program: Contracts 1–3 already awarded and under construction; contracts 4–7 going out for bid. A website listing contractor areas and schedules is being developed (will be managed by the new PIO).
- Chlorine facility design at Skaneateles is underway.
- Hiawatha transmission main is planned to be brought back online this year.
- Reservoir circulation: To address algae blooms, the department is working with a company to improve water circulation in open reservoirs (e.g., Westcott and Woodland). Changes will aim to keep water moving without reducing pressure on the north side.
- Aquarium water connection: The aquarium will be tied to the city's water system and will purchase water at standard rates, per an offline discussion.
- Cost of water main breaks: The 415 repairs were all done in-house (no contractual costs); materials are funded partly through the operating budget and partly through CIP. Exact cost was not provided.
Key Outcomes
- The hearing concluded without a formal vote on the budget or rate increase. Council members expressed interest in further discussion offline, particularly regarding the rate increase percentage.
- Commissioner stated the department will continue to work with senior staff to strategize revenue increases.
- No motions were made beyond adjournment.
Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
We are here. Um to do Division of Water Budget Hearing. I'm joined by my colleague, Petrona Joe Rausa, Helen Hudson, Donna Moore, Martinave, myself, and President Rida Paniawa, and of course, our wonderful commission that we always bring us fresh water. Appreciate you with your with your team here. So we're just gonna give it to you so you can do an overview and then we can go into details of uh of the budget. Okay, good afternoon, counselors. Um I would like to just provide you an update of our uh recent accomplishments and our improvements throughout our you know, water uh industry, yeah. Infrastructure. Uh we've had 415 water main repairs this year. Um little more than the previous year that we've repaired. It's not including fire hydrant replacements or 450 415 breaks and leaks. So not all of them were major breaks, but these are things that the crews have worked on through the year. Okay. Um we also replaced Bose Gatehouse Valve, which has been broken closed for about 15 years and has had a major leak. Um, maybe longer. We repaired that and put that back online. Um that has given us given us an estimate about 1.5 million gallons of water more a day coming into the city by repairing that valve on its own. Um that valve was in the CIP to be replaced. Um we did it in-house instead at a much affordable cost with our crews. In addition to that, we brought mortingside tanks back online, which is restored eight million gallons of storage capacity to the city of Syracuse. Um, this improvement gather strengths and uh you know our ability to meet demands, you know, during emergencies. Um we also have inspected the transmission path from Skinnatis Lake to the city of Syracuse, which uh includes every valve and every blow-off along the way, those inspections. We um operated valves that were closed over the years that were unknowingly closed and unoperable. We got them up and operating. We have two valves that are still broken closed out on the conduits we're looking to replace sometimes this year. And with doing so, we've brought in usually we're bringing in 39 to 40 million gallons a day of water. The city of Syracuse now is bringing in between 43 and 45 MgD a day, which is great on the times that we do shutdowns and stuff like that. We could fill our reserve up quicker. As we use it, we can fill it a lot quicker. Can I ask a quick question? Yes. Is that improving water pressure? Because I noticed the water pressure in my house has gone up. A lot of the main work and stuff throughout the city, um, keeping our reservoirs full um has helped. We we went through a time where we're helping Aqua that our reservoir dropped a little bit because we're supplying so much water on our end to them to keep them afloat, but our reservoirs are climbing every day now. We're we're gaining, you know, historically we're like.2 plus maybe one MGD plus a day. Now we're up to four or five plus MGD a day filling our system. So we f you know we're controlling the flow a lot better. Um and we're hoping as the growth of the city, we can even bring more in. We believe we can um with repairing some of the gate, the two gates that are broken on the conduit. Um we believe we can bring in even more water, which would rely less on us taking water from aqua during the shutdown seasons. Um we're hoping that we could just fill our system up on our own. What does that do to the um because I I I know if when you keep water like that, what how does that work with rising temperatures? I'm sorry, I didn't. So if if you are filling up reservoirs like that, what does that do with how does that work with rising temperatures with things like algae bloom and stuff like that? So the way we will could we will control the flow. Okay. So the winter months we use more water in the city of Syracuse through the winter months. So it's when we we don't have LG issues. Okay.
openpublica.com