Long Island GOP pushes for govt takeover of water utility given outrageous rate requests

Long Island Republicans are pushing for a government takeover of what they call a money-hungry private water utility pushing to wallop local residents with brutal rate hikes.Hempstead Town Supervisor John Ferretti gathered Thursday with fellow GOP members to blast Liberty Utilities, the Canadian-based company that took over part of Nassau County’s water system in 2022, for quietly seeking to jack up rates 22% and 30% in different parts of America’s largest town. “People that have Liberty water are paying too much for water, and the idea that [company officials] are looking for even more is outrageous,” Ferretti told The Post. “The water needs to be municipalized,” he said while demanding the state’s Public Service Commission reject Liberty’s requested price increase. If the request is granted, Liberty Water’s rate hike could cost residents an extra roughly $30 per month, or more than $360 a year, according to estimates by the town. The average Liberty customer in Nassau County already pays about $1,870 annually, which is more than three times the estimated $600 average paid by those under the publicly owned Suffolk County Water Authority across the border, The Post previously reported.Ferretti and his allies said they’re now pushing for the South Nassau Water Authority, a public entity created by state law in 2021, to buy out the private utility and its water infrastructure on Long Island and provide the service for much cheaper.

But Ferretti said Liberty has rejected multiple buyout offers and blamed the state for routinely approving the company’s proposed hikes that continue to drain residents’ wallets and give the company no reason to sell.“The problem is, if the state continues to approve rate hikes, what’s the incentive for Liberty Water to sell if they’re going to continue making a profit? This is why opposing these rate hikes is so vital to the municipalization of the water,” Ferretti said. It’s a rare push from the GOP...