A close call on water for Legoland

BY ERIKA NORTON
GOSHEN — The Village of Goshen has suffered water shortages so severe, it needed to develop an emergency well nine miles away to get it through droughts.
The shortages are so famous, they're been written up by The New York Times and featured in a documentary film.
So how will the village supply the proposed Legoland New York theme park?
The village, and other Leogoland supporters, say that even during drought, the village's combined water sources will be enough.
But an anti-Legoland group, which is suing for changes to the decisions Goshen has made so far, says Legoland has not sufficiently explained how it will do the job.
In August, after an engineer hired by the village conducted an analysis, the board of trustees agreed to provide water and sewer service to the theme park. They were confident that the village's water and sewer system, which currently serves about 5,500 people, is sufficient to supply the park too.
The anti-Legoland group, Concerned Citizens for the Hudson Valley, hired their own hydrologist, Paul Rubin. In their lawsuit, the Concerned Citizens called the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) submitted by Legoland and approved by the Town of Goshen “woefully inadequate.”
Rubin said there just isn't enough information in the impact statement to determine whether there's enough water for everyone.
“This same lack of information will necessarily prevent members of the lead agency from being able to take a 'hard look' at the proposed project and the potential impacts associated with it," Rubin said in an affidavit.
What does the DEIS say?According to the analysis done by Jim Farr of Farr Engineering included in the DEIS, the combined water sources available to the village during drought conditions total 1,300,000 gallons a day. During July, Legoland's busiest month, 1,224,000 gallons per day will be needed to supply both Legoland and the village.
The DEIS further states that, when factoring in future growth in the village, demand will be about 1,400,000 gallons per day. At that time, it says, additional water sources will be needed.
As a result, said Mayor Kyle Roddey, Legoland has committed to funding an additional well at the Crystal Run Village (CRV), the village-owned property owned that contains its emergency well.
Rubin is not satisfied with the data.
“The problem there is they (Merlin/Legoland) provide a number and say it's comparable to other Legoland facilities," he said. "But in any major water supply analysis, you can't just say that. You have to provide data: they'll be X many rooms with this many gallons per room, this many gallons for watering, and gallons for all of their different operations."
He said Legoland is basically asking the public and the lead agency to accept a number at face value.
"Of course, that would not be prudent to do because both the public and the lead agency then are not in a position to review and comment on what's really there," he said.
What about drought?Rubin said the DEIS fails to address the village's historic and recent droughts or to provide a record of all the drought warning stages that have occurred. He cites the Town of Goshen's May 2003 Water Use Alert Policy, which shows the town recognizes there are repeated water quantity problems. Documenting these water crises is essential, he said.
He cited a March 16, 2002, New York Times article by Winnie Hu, “A Village Running Dry Hopes It has Struck Water,” which states that “The village's main reservoir has only six weeks' worth of water left in it, and the backup reservoir is already dry.”
On Aug. 19, 2002, the Wallkill River flow was low, recorded at 24 ft3/sec. The Prospect Reservoir water level was alarmingly low at that time, Rubin said, and the Green Hill Reservoir was dry. Many similar or worse droughts have occurred over the last 92 years of record, he said.
Town's responseRichard Golden, attorney for the Town of Goshen Planning Board, denies that the DEIS has insufficient data.
“What is in the DEIS with respect to water is that the Village of Goshen has sufficient water even without drilling another well to supply water to this facility, and therefore that's all that's required,” Golden said. “They (the village) have provided a report that indicated that there is sufficient water therefore the DEIS is complete with that.”
Golden the DEIS contains sufficient empirical data to satisfy the project's requirements, and that there's no need to provide more information on drought.
“The village has an engineer that has looked at the water, and they consider things like drought all time,” he said. “There is no need to have a separate drought analysis. They understand the history of the demands on the system and droughts and the indication is that they have more than enough water to supply the Legoland project.”
Jim Farr, the special engineer hired by the village, did not return The Chronicle's requests for comment.
Rubin said more information is also needed about the proposed additional well that the DEIS says will become necessary if the village grows. The new well won't necessarily be helpful if it draws from the same aquifer as the other two Crystal Run Village wells.
It's “another straw to the same glass," he said.
Since the additional well is not required for this project, no further data is needed at this time, Golden said. If the well is necessary in the future, he said, it will have to go through its own environmental review.
Up next
The public can now comment on the project. The public hearing on the DEIS is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the C.J. Hooker Middle School. Those who cannot attend the hearing can submit their comments in writing, with written public comments being accepted until Tuesday, Jan. 10.
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