We are in a droughty year and the Ski Slope spring has run dry. The post describes some locations where you can obtain good town water. This is a redo of a Facebook post at goodNOW! – stuff on FB quickly slides into oblivion. A shout out to Ruth Olbert of Cloud-Splitter Outfitters who got some of these turned on or looked at.
Public taps with Newcomb water accessible by Flow residents, 2020
There is a water-line accessible at the old gravel yard, back/side of the old salt sheds across from the overlook – This seems to be the most convenient of the three options I list since you can drive up which means less lifting and carrying of containers. I don’t know what will happen to this site after 2020 since the gravel yard has relocated.
At the Overlook, there is a working tap out on the grass as you look to the mountains from the granite informational monolith. I think this is hooked up to the line on the back of the bathrooms, a connection that is currently blocking access there.
There are two outside taps at the Lake Harris town beach, at what I’m told are the bathhouse and cookshack. The taps at the beach are the closest to the Flow but they are a ways from the parking lot for carrying when you obey the no vehicles sign.
Please be respectful at all the locations, make sure you leave taps as off as they’ll go and don’t drive where you clearly shouldn’t.
Drinking water at the Goodnow Flow, Newcomb NY
If you are looking at properties: Nobody at the Flow is hooked up to Town water and sewer. Many but not all Lots have drilled waters. The Lake water is generally regarded as OK for swimming (but it is not tested for bacteria) and some properties without wells pump out water for general household use – but it’s strongly not recommended for cooking or drinking.
Water at the Ski Slope on Goodnow Flow Road
The ski slope spring is the traditional source of drinking water for cabins that don’t have working wells at the Goodnow Flow. The summer of 2020 this has dried up but its really not an officially recommended source any time because it’s accessing surface water. Surface water is prone to getting contaminated – the spring was scoring positive for E. coli, on and off, but water testing folk I worked with at NY DoH say the problem is that a good test today says nothing about tomorrow for a surface source.
However, folks have used it for generations and it will be there when the town has likely turned off those taps for the winter (and many folks have shut down their wells, which introduces new demand for local water).