With Brocton and Portland looking to leave Chadwick Bay Intermunicipal Water Works and do their own water billing and maintenance, Chautauqua County is looking to do its part to help facilitate that move.

In 2015, after the North Chautauqua County Water District was formed, an intermunicipal agreement with the county, city of Dunkirk, village of Brocton, and towns of Portland, Pomfret, Dunkirk and Sheridan was created to establish terms and rates for sale of water to those municipalities.

In 2019, an operation and maintenance agreement was formed to do the maintenance of the town and village infrastructure, as well as billing the customers in the district.

Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery, spoke at both the Public Facilities, and Audit and Control committee meetings, to discuss the exit process.

He said over the years there’s been friction in that intermunicipal organization called Chadwick Bay Intermunicipal Water Works (CBI), and now Brocton and Portland want to leave, and do their own billing and maintenance.

A resolution was placed before the legislature committees to help the municipalities exit and continue to be part of the water district. “It (is) very important that we protect the water district and the county,” Chagnon said.

Chagnon said the two municipalities believe they can be more efficient than CBI has been.

The city of Dunkirk supplies the water and bills the total amount to CBI, which in turn, bills individual customers. Now Portland will get its own bill and be responsible for the town and village customers.

Portland and Brocton have already approved the measure at their municipal board meetings.

Both legislature committees voted in favor of the resolution. The full legislature will vote on final approval at its meeting on Wednesday.