Archive: Around Town

When you turn on your tap water comes out.  It's a given.  But do you know what it takes to get it to do that?  Next Friday (May 8th) from noon to 6pm you'll get a chance to find out when the Bolton Point Municipal Water System hosts an open house to celebrate National Drinking Water Week (May 3-9).

"We're having an open house to promote public awareness," says Bolton Point General Manager Paul Tunison.  "I think if people get involved, and see what's actually going on and hear some of the issue facing water systems in the United States they'll get an idea of why they pay their water bill, and what that goes to."

Tunison says that the facility has offered tours in past years, but the open house is new.  Encouraged by the success of an open house two years ago when the facility's new office space was completed, they decided to hold one this year at which they will offer tours, demonstrations, displays, and refreshments to the general public.  "Everyone will get a plastic water bottle," he says.  "They can fill them up on the way out if they want."


Tunison notes that Bolton Point water is one of the best deals going.  While bottled water can go for two or three dollars a quart, or even a dollar for a gallon, you get about 1,000 gallons for four dollars including the Bolton Point rate and a surcharge that the municipalities add on.  When you consider that a lot of bottled water comes out of the tap, that is a phenomenal deal.  The facility posts its annual safety reports on its Web site to show the public exactly how safe it is.

In addition Bolton Point has won the The Tompkins County Division of Environmental Health's local water taste test ten time in the past fifteen years.  Last year 250 tasted the water from seven Tompkins County municipal water systems, with 53 choosing Bolton Point's as the best tasting.  That made it eligible to compete state-wide competition at the State Fair sponsored by the New York State Department of Health and the New York Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA).  On Saturday (May 9th) the facility will compete again at the Ithaca Farmer's Market from 9am to 3pm.

National Drinking Water Week has been celebrated for more than 30 years.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Water Works Association offer all kinds of information and activities for kids and adults.  These include crossword and word puzzles, coloring books, a video contest on YouTube, social networking projects and projects like building your own aquifer from a plastic cup. 

Each year Bolton Point gives tours and demonstrations to Lansing second graders during Drinking Water Week.  "We give them a tour," Tunison says.  "We give them a demonstration of the water treatment processes.  A person from our distribution department flows a hydrant and shows them the different tools they use.  We have a hydrant in our side yard with 150 pounds of pressure so they get a good stream going for the kids.  They really enjoy that."

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