Waste Water Treatment

The Village Waste Water Department is a district and is set up under the law to be outside of the general tax base. It is "fee for service" paid by the consumers of water on the basis of a metered charge regulated by the Board of Trustees under the laws of the State of New York.

The waste water system for the village was built primarily for the densely populated business district and for some of the densely occupied residential units in the Village (Village Green, The Woods) as required by the New York State Health Department.

Some out-of-district customers, such as the Astor Gardens development and Tops, pay special fees in addition to the base charges. The waste water is a “fee for service” and the billing is done separately but in concurrence with the water billing.

Our system only services about a third of Village residents, the rest of whom have private septic systems that serve their homes.

Waste water collection and processing is a special health protection and our facility is a 24/7 operation. Our operations are monitored by state and county departments of health and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. We consistently stay in complete compliance with the requirements of the authorities.

The Rhinebeck Village Waste Water Treatment Plant produces 42 tons of sludge annually. The Village pays $60K annually to have it hauled to a to a composting site in Rockland County. Previously, we were paying to have it hauled 100 miles to Naugatuck CT, where it was then incinerated.