Westchester Joint Water Works hammers out $9M settlement over water filtration plant

Westchester Joint Water Works has hammered out a $9 million agreement with state and federal authorities to settle longstanding demands to move forward on a filtration plant to protect drinking water for its customers in southern Westchester.

The settlement will include a novel requirement: payment of $1 million to install a water line outside of WJWW’s service area to serve an estimated 50 homeowners in the Quarry Heights neighborhood in North Castle.

Paying for the settlement will be ratepayers in the town of Harrison and the town and village of Mamaroneck, which are served by the public water agency. Also served by WWJW are households in the cities of Rye and New Rochelle.

Ratepayers will also be on the hook for a $138 million facility to be built on Purchase Street in Harrison, on 13 acres of Westchester County property by the Quaker Meeting House. That land will be swapped for nearby agency land adjacent to Westchester County Airport. The county Board of Legislators approved the swap in April.

The settlement includes civil penalties of $650,000 to be paid to New York state, which ordered construction of the facility in 2003, and $600,000 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which followed suit with a similar order in 2019.

EPA found compounds that can increase health risks

The EPA in 2019 found high concentrations of haloacetic acids in drinking water drawn from the Rye Lake portion of the Kensico Reservoir, where Westchester Joint Water Works draws its water. These compounds are formed by the interaction of chlorine and naturally occurring organic material in the reservoir. While not posing an immediate health risk, these compounds can increase risks of cancer, liver disease and kidney disease, according to the project’s final environmental impact statement.

More: Purchase Quakers sue over environmental study for water plant by their house of worship

In the settlement, Westchester Joint Water Works agreed to spend $1 million to improve stormwater management by the Rye Lake portion of the Kensico Reservoir. It will also establish a $5.7-million program to replace lead service lines that connect water mains to homes and businesses in its service area.

The agency has already identified 630 lead service lines, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has declared to be a health threat because lead can leach into drinking water. The EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that there is no known safe level of lead in a child's blood.

In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells, according to the EPA.

WJWW Manager Paul Kutzy said the agency negotiated these investments in local water projects to reduce the penalties that state and federal authorities were prepared to impose for the delays.

In 2023, WJWW estimated that the potential fines could exceed $100 million. State fines, for example, which accrued at $13,750, date back to 2004.

Adding a main line to North Castle

Running a water main outside of WJWW’s service area would be charged to the new customers under normal conditions. Making it part of the settlement agreement, however, allows the expenditure.

That's why ratepayers, under the deal, would cover the $1 million cost of installing a water line to serve the Quarry Heights neighborhood in the town of North Castle.

“The water main will allow WJWW to sell at wholesale prices drinking water to a community in North Castle that currently lacks consistent access to potable water,” Kutzy wrote in an email. “The cost of the water main reduces the civil penalty that would have otherwise been paid to New York state. WJWW determined that helping a neighboring community solve a water supply problem was preferable to sending the money to the state government in Albany.”

The settlement, which still needs to be approved by municipal boards in Harrison and Mamaroneck, came under criticism by longtime Harrison resident Richard Ruge, the former WJWW general superintendent who retired in 2011 after working there for 30 years.

He recalled how discussions with North Castle fell apart during his tenure when the town failed to come up with funding to pay for a line to Quarry Heights, where homes were built on granite ledge. Residents of Quarry Heights have sought a public water supply since the mid-1990s.

More: Long-delayed water filtration plant at Westchester County Airport now faces opposition. Here's why

Ruge questioned what would happen if the cost of the water main project exceeds $1 million.

“It’s 100% rock there,” he said. “It’s quite difficult to estimate construction costs on a rocky area like they have in Quarry Heights.”

The consent decree requires the agency to deposit $1.1 million in an account dedicated to the North Castle water main project. Any costs exceeding $1.1 million will be the responsibility of the town of North Castle, said Kutzy.

Water bills to rise 75%

The settlement agreement will add new costs to water bills for WJWW customers. The project’s 2022 environmental impact statement predicted that water rates were expected to rise 75% over five years to pay for the filtration plant, bringing the average yearly bill to $1,650.

The cost of the plant, first estimated at $108 million, had ballooned to $138 million by 2022. That estimate has yet to be updated, with the settlement setting a May 2025 target for the project to go out to bid. The settlement obligates WJWW to complete construction by March, 2029.

How many lead service pipes must be replaced?

The replacement of lead service pipes in Mamaroneck will help WJWW comply with a proposed federal regulation that would require all public water agencies to retire its lead service lines within 10 years. The EPA has mandated that all lead service lines be identified by October 2024, said Kutzy.

The U.S. EPA has determined that lead service lines are a significant source of lead in drinking water and a threat to public health. Lead is a toxic metal that if ingested may harm human health, especially the health of young children, said Kutzy.

Among the 15,000 service lines that connect residences or businesses to WJWW’s water mains, the agency so far has identified that 4% of them are made from lead, though there may be more as the inventory has yet to be completed.

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David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government accountability. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at dwilson3@lohud.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester NY filtration plant delays result in $9 million settlement