The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced it paid $165 million in local village, town, city, county and school taxes in 2023 across nine Hudson Valley and Catskill counties covering the water supply system that serves nearly half of the state’s population. With this year’s payments, DEP remains a top taxpayer throughout many municipalities and schools in and near the watershed region, paying taxes on the full-assessed value of land, structures, easements, and most water supply infrastructure across the approximately 230,000 acres owned or controlled by New York City for the water supply system.
DEP pays property and school taxes at full assessed value on all land, reservoirs, dams and structures across the approximately 230,000 acres it owns or controls throughout the 2,000-square-mile watershed in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, including the tens of thousands of acres open to the public for recreational purposes such as hiking, fishing, hunting and boating, as well as on property used for agricultural purposes. Piping and aqueducts used to convey water are tax exempt. Taxes are paid on all properties originally acquired to build the 19 upstate reservoirs and three controlled lakes between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries (about 78,000 acres), and all land and assets acquired since to operate the supply system and as buffer land to help protect water quality (approximately 156,000 acres).
Of the total $165 million in taxes DEP paid, more than $105 million went directly to public schools throughout the nine-county region. For example, in Delaware County DEP taxes made up about a third of the total tax levy for the Deposit Central School District and two-thirds of the Downsville Central School District, with significant payments to others throughout the county.
DEP’s 2023 local property and school tax payments break down as follows:
Delaware County
On 1,224 parcels, DEP paid $6,472,930 in county property taxes and $12,213,348 in school taxes.
• Colchester – On 36 parcels, DEP paid $1,904,610 in town property taxes.
• Deposit – On one parcel, DEP paid $642,585 in town property taxes.
• Tompkins – On 68 parcels, DEP paid $557,547 in town property taxes.
• Middletown – On 177 parcels, DEP paid $462,280 in town property taxes.
• Roxbury – On 208 parcels, DEP paid $391,587 in town property taxes.
• Andes – On 188 parcels, DEP paid $374,587 in town property taxes.
• Walton – On 71 parcels, DEP paid $80,161 in town property taxes.
• Delhi – On 95 parcels, DEP paid $89,493 in town property taxes.
• Bovina – On 50 parcels, DEP paid $65,201 in town property taxes.
• Hamden – On 86 parcels, DEP paid $33,665 in town property taxes.
• Kortright – On 59 parcels, DEP paid $32,039 in town property taxes.
• Stamford – On 103 parcels, DEP paid $29,215 in town property taxes.
• Meredith – On 42 parcels, DEP paid $22,279 in town property taxes.
• Masonville – On 14 parcels, DEP paid $11,369 in town property taxes.
• Franklin – On 18 parcels, DEP paid $10,524 in town property taxes.
• Harpersfield – On 7 parcels, DEP paid $2,218 in town property taxes.
• Hancock – On 1 parcel, DEP paid $740 in town property taxes.
School District Tax
• Andes Central School District $631,730.41
• Delaware Academy Central School District at Delhi $387,261.38
• Deposit Central School District $2,796,173.41
• Downsville Central School District $5,704,757.03
• Franklin Central School District $6,656.97
• Hancock Central School District $1,570.83
• Margaretville Central School District $922,299.51
• Roscoe Central School District $821.81
• Roxbury Central School District $782,238.71
• Sidney Central School District $17,745.27
• South Kortright Central School District $174,690.19
• Stamford Central School District $36,791.23
• Walton Central School District $753,679.30.
