Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
The Town of Queensbury began installation of new water mains Tuesday that will bring municipal water for the first time to the Jenkinsville area.
Resident Kristina Tucker reminded the Town Board at its July 6 meeting that the neighborhood has been without safe drinking water for six-plus years.
Residents of about 150 properties have been using bottled water since 2020, when state Department of Environmental Conservation well water tests showed carcinogens 1,4-dioxane and PFAs.
Queensbury contractor Tom Kubricky Company Inc. (TKC) was awarded the Phase one contract at the July 6 Town Board Meeting. They had the lowest of six bids, at $3,376,159, and it was $1.76 million under the next lowest bid, the town noted. Bids ranged up to $8.8 million.
TKC will lay approximately 22,000 linear feet — nearly four miles — of water mains, plus hydrants and valves.
The pipe laying begins on Mud Pond Road, between Patten Mills Road and Azure Drive. It will proceed along Jenkinsville Road to Old Cronin Road, Rainbow Trail, Sunnyside Road, Sunnyside East, Stonehurst Drive, then Ridge Road to Haviland Road.
Construction hours are Monday to Friday, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The contract also calls for restoring lawns, landscaping, driveways and other areas impacted by the work.
The Town required the contractor to complete the job by the end of May 2027.
The project is overseen by C.T. Male Associates, the Town’s engineering firm, and Queensbury Water and Wastewater Director Chris Harrington.
The second phase will see the new mains connected to individual properties. The Town said this will involve a second bidding process.
The project will make public water service available for the first time to approximately 176 parcels, including 146 residences in two zones.
Zone 1 generally encompasses areas of Jenkinsville where New York State tests showed possible contamination in some private drinking water wells.
The 88 Zone 1 properties are required to connect to the new town water mains.
Another 88 properties in Zone 2 will have opportunity to connect to municipal water but are not required to do so.
The full project was funded with a grant of up to $5 million through the Federal Infrastructre Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, under then-President Joe Biden, administered through New York State’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program.
“The grant will significantly reduce the local share of project costs and help ensure the delivery of safe, reliable drinking water for more Town residents,” the town said.
The Town Board also approved the new Queensbury Consolidated Water District, combining Jenkinsville and also the Mountain Estates Water District (along Luzerne Road and Twin Mountain Drive) with the existing Central Town Water District — thus sharing the cost of the project across the town.
Operation and maintenance rates charged to property owners within the existing Districts will remain the same, said the Town resolution.
“The consolidation of the three Districts would result in moneys being saved and long term costs lowered.”
Kristina Jenkins: 6+ years of worry on safety of water; urges consolidation
Jenkinsville resident Kristina Tucker spoke at the July 6 Queensbury Town Board meeting in favor of consolidating the town water districts to begin work on bringing municipal water to her neighborhood.
“For six-plus years, Jenkinsville residents have lived with uncertainty about the safety of our drinking water and are forced to live out of bottles of water. Although we are very thankful for the water provided to us since the end of last year, questions still remain about the safety of our family members still bathing in this water.
“This project is about protecting public health and is about providing a peace of mind. It is about making sure that every resident has access to a safe, dependable public water supply, and the fact that New York State has committed substantial grant funding demonstrates that this is recognized as an important public health investment to the state as a whole.
“…Every year that there has been delay, we see the cost of the inevitable project nearly double.
“Consolidation also makes sense for the future.” Among other benefits, “It provides long-term stability instead of leaving neighborhoods to face these challenges alone, as we did for way too many years.”
Copyright © 2026 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserve
