About 60 miles west of Albany, in Herkimer County, is the Village of Dolgeville. With a population of around 2,200 residents, many of whom are elderly and living on fixed incomes, Dolgeville is a close-knit community with deep roots in the region’s cultural heritage. The Village was founded in the late 18th century and was named after Alfred Dolge, a prominent industrialist who established piano felt and slipper manufacturing operations along the local waterways.
Dolgeville’s water and wastewater systems serve the village’s residential and commercial customers, but the absence of water meters had long prevented the village from implementing water conservation measures. Without meters, there was no way to track individual usage, identify waste, or bill customers based on actual consumption. This placed an outsized burden on the water and wastewater systems and made water bills less equitable, particularly for seniors living alone who used far less water than larger households but paid the same flat rate.
Green Innovation Grant Application
SU-EFC worked with village leadership to identify a funding opportunity that would address both the infrastructure gap and the affordability challenge. The team assisted Dolgeville in preparing and applying for a Green Innovation Grant Program (GIGP) award through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation. The application argued that installing water meters throughout the village would enable conservation-based billing, reduce strain on aging water and wastewater infrastructure, and improve affordability for low-usage households. Dolgeville was successfully awarded $664,000 through the GIGP to fund the installation of water meters village-wide.
Implementation Support and Rate Study Training
Dolgeville and SU-EFC are still preparing to meet the Environmental Facilities Corporation’s requirements for implementation of the project, including compliance with procurement, reporting, and project management standards. SU-EFC also has plans to train village leaders in how to conduct a water rate study that will align the village’s billing structure with the new meters. This effort is based on improving capacity and ensuring that the transition to metered billing independently is as painless as possible, while also setting rates that are both sustainable for the system and fair to residents.
Looking Ahead
Once the meters are installed and the new billing structure is in place, Dolgeville will be better positioned to encourage water conservation, identify leaks and system losses, and ensure that water bills reflect actual usage. For a village with a large elderly population on fixed incomes, this transition represents a meaningful step toward more affordable and equitable water service. SU-EFC’s ongoing support is helping Dolgeville build the internal capacity to manage this project and sustain its benefits for years to come.
Facing a similar challenge in your community? SU-EFC and our bench of partners provide no-cost technical assistance to help communities across EPA Region 2 plan projects, access funding, and move water infrastructure priorities forward.
Learn more and request assistance today: efc.syr.edu/assistance
