WHITE PLAINS RESIDENTS RECENTLY RECEIVED NOTICES CONCERNING WATER COMPLIANCE ISSUES…GREENBURGH RESIDENTS DID NOT…WHY?
GREENBURGH AND WHITE PLAINS RECEIVE WATER FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES—THAT’S WHY GREENBURGH RESIDENTS DID NOT GET SIMILAR LETTER TO WHITE PLAINS
Some Greenburgh residents who reside in the 10607 and 10603 zip codes have contacted me to ask why White Plains residents that they know received notices from NYC re: water quality and Greenburgh did not. I reached out to John Devany of our water department and he provided me with the following explanation. Our drinking water complies with all Health Dept and US EPA standards!
Greenburgh Consolidated Water District purchases all of its water from the City of New York, Department of Environmental Protection - Bureau of Water Supply via the Catskill and Delaware aqueducts.
Under the requirements of the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR), Catskill/Delaware water is required to have two types of disinfection. The water is already disinfected with chlorine, and the Catskill/Delaware Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfection Facility provides the federally-required secondary level of disinfection against potentially harmful microbiological contaminants such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia.
The plant, which was put into operation in 2012, is located at the New York City-owned Eastview site in the towns of Mount Pleasant and Greenburgh. All treatment complies with the New York State Health Department and the U.S. EPA. The District performs additional treatment consisting of additional disinfection utilizing chlorine and corrosion control.
White Plains receives its water directly from the Kensico reservoir. The water is treated at the County’s Kensico Dam Treatment Facility. However, this treatment facility does not presently have UV treatment and therefore, does not provide the federally-required secondary level of disinfection against potentially harmful microbiological contaminants such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia. This is why the City of White Plains has sent out notices concerning compliance issues, as their Kensico water source does not currently have UV treatment.
I believe the County is now under a consent order to construct a ultraviolet water treatment facility for the Kensico source to comply with these regulations..
PAUL FEINER