HARTWICK - The Hartwick water district approved a resolution Monday night announcing their intent to accept the bid on a nearly $2 million water improvement project.

The board of water commissioners made the decision to go ahead with the entire project instead of adopting a scaled back plan after receiving revised aid figures from USDA Rural Development Friday which reduced the per year cost to water residents by more than $100.

Project engineer K. Wayne Bunn explained that Rural Development offered an additional $318,000 in grant money and additional $592,000 in loans, boosting the total figures to $1.8 million for the project loan and $688,500 in grant money.

The total project cost would then be slightly over $2.5 million, Bunn said.

"That's doing everything," Bunn said. He said that amount would pay for all legal fees and costs associated with the project, in addition to the actual project itself. Under the project, the water district will have all corroded mains and pipes replaced, water meters installed for each unit, a new concrete reservoir installed, sidewalk replacement and a new second well dug to serve as a backup to the main well.

The revised figures result in a cut to $493 per year, per unit cost for district residents, down from the proposed $613 per year, per unit cost that many residents said was too steep at an informational meeting Jan. 16.

The water district is in the hamlet of Hartwick and serves 250 units and has many problems, officials say. Under the current system, users pay a flat rate of $150 per year for unlimited water usage. Officials have been working on the project for several years and are concerned that the current system is falling apart and has water pressure and quality issues. Bunn said improvement to water pressure and taste issues would be noticeable throughout the district following the project's completion.

He estimated that major construction would be completed this summer, with some landscaping issues possibly falling over into the 2007 construction season.

The board could have reduced the cost per year to approximately $431, but they would have had to eliminate several important aspects of the project, Bunn said. After consultation among board members and a public comment period, the board voted unanimously to pass a resolution announcing their intent to award the bid to Cranbrook Construction of Albany "subject to completion of a new or amended bond resolution."

The board scheduled a public hearing on the bond resolution for Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at the town hall.