Construction to begin on water pumphouse

MILLERTON — Construction is expected to begin this week on the village’s new drinking water pumphouse, more than a year and a half after a fire destroyed the original facility.

The new pumphouse is the first of two structures being built to replace Millerton’s Public Works Department building that was destroyed in a fire in February 2025. The original, fire-ravaged building housed both the village’s Water Department and Highway Department operations at Eddie Collins Memorial Park, and will ultimately be replaced with separate structures for each of these Public Works functions.

Fire project manager Caroline Farr-Killmer has been in charge of replacing the building since the fire destroyed it. She said construction crews were expected to begin work this week, but rainy weather could delay the project’s start.

“You don’t want to go out and start this in the pouring rain,” Farr-Killmer said.

The new pumphouse will house one of two municipal drinking water pumps. The pump has been offline since the February 2025 fire, leaving Millerton to rely on a single well for its drinking water for the past 18 months. The operable pump, located in what’s known as the “dog house” nearby the old structure, has had to supply all of Millerton’s drinking water.

Millerton Mayor Jenn Najdek said the building’s construction should take between four and six weeks, but the pump won’t be switched on immediately. Following construction, the village’s water company and county health officials will conduct water quality tests to ensure contaminants haven’t entered the well while it was inoperable.

“It could take as long as three or four months until the Board of Health approves the well being up and running again,” Najdek said.

Najdek said she’s encouraged to see the project moving forward after months of planning and approvals. The mayor compared government projects to her day job at Millerton construction company EcoBuilders, saying village construction can often lag due to the complexity of bureaucratic processes.

“Municipal work is not that simple,” she said. “There’s always a wrench in there somewhere.”

Construction on the water department building was originally expected to start in July, but plans for the construction didn’t receive approval from the Dutchess County Board of Health until much later in the month.