BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM — Water production has dropped more than 50 percent over the last three years in the village while still meeting consumption demands.

The decrease seems to indicate that improvements to the village’s production facility as well as infrastructure improvements and conservation measures are having an effect.

According to information relayed by Village Administrator Isabelle Gates-Shult at the village board meeting on July 15, the village’s water production numbers show a large drop in production since 2022.  

Gates-Shult said that the village’s chief water operator calculates that in June of 2022 the village produced 23,179,000 gallons of water.

In June of 2023, the village produced 15,541,000 gallons of water.

The numbers were down again in June of 2024, the administrator said, with only 10,789,000 gallons produced.

“So this means the water consumption has decreased around 53 percent over the last three years,” Gates-Shult told the village board.

“And I think with the continued changes and improvements happening within the water department, as well as continued conservation of water, finding those leaks and other issues, we’ll hopefully continue to see a decline in that water usage. That is the goal,” she said.

The village produces water for about 10,000 residents, including the water provided to SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson university.

The water is drawn from the Raquette River to the village’s treatment plant where it is filtered through a sand filtration system, to two elevated storage tanks. From there it supplies several miles of water mains which bring the water to village residences, businesses and other buildings.