Westchester Joint Water Works Public Notification to Consumers Regarding Non-Compliance With a Treatment Technique   The Westchester Joint Water Works obtains all of its water from the New York City water supply system. Federal and state regulations which became effective in June 1993, mandated that public water supplies must meet certain criteria in order to avoid being required to filter their water.   Although the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conditionally determined in December 1991 that New York City met the criteria for avoidance of filtration under the Surface Water Treatment Rule (SWTR), they subsequently determined that the Water Works’ Rye Lake supply, which is taken from the eastern part of New York City’s Kensico Reservoir, did not meet the criteria.   As a result, relative to raw water quality potentially impacted by runoff from the Westchester County Airport and Interstate 684, WJWW installed a new water intake extending farther out and deeper into Rye Lake, which was completed in 1995. In addition, the Water Works installed a turbidity curtain in Rye Lake, and the airport re-directed drainage off the Rye Lake watershed at the County Airport in compliance with a SPDES permit. This work was completed in 1999.   Work on a New York City project designed to address storm water runoff from the eastern shore of Rye Lake using best management practices, involving the construction of about a dozen detention basins, stilling basins and the rip-rap of stream beds, was also completed. New York City also improved the monitoring and control of its watershed and undertook a number of steps to acquire and protect open space. The Water Works also acquired land in the Purchase section of the Town of Harrison to assure that it had a place to build a filtration facility.   Additionally, the Water Works undertook several major projects to enable it to comply with disinfection treatment requirements of the regulations, including the installation of over 3,100 feet of 36-inch supply main on Purchase Street; construction of a second 1.0 million gallon water storage tank in Purchase along with modifications to an existing 1.0 million gallon water storage tank.   The New York State Department of Health initiated an enforcement action in 1999 seeking to require the Water Works to construct and operate a filter plant. The Water Works initiated legal actions challenging the determination.   In July of 2005 the Court of Appeals issued an opinion confirming the lower court’s ruling that the filter plant must be built. The Water Works completed the project design in a timely fashion and received plan approval from the Department of Health on April 6, 2006. Construction commenced on schedule on August 29, 2006. However, due to litigation and permitting issues, construction of the plant was halted. Subsequently, the Water Works explored options with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Westchester County Department of Health and NYS Department of Health that would allow the Water Works to connect to an alternative water source to replace its Rye Lake intake.   Following the evaluation of various alternatives, the result is a project to construct a filtration facility near the Westchester County Airport that will allow WJWW to attain full compliance with existing regulations. This project is now mandated as part of a 2024 settlement with Federal and State authorities. Engineering design for the project was completed in 2024. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2025 with the facility being operational in mid-2029.   The NYSDOH sets drinking water standards and has determined that the presence of microbiological contaminants in a water supply are a health concern at certain levels of exposure. If water is inadequately treated, microbiological contaminants in that water may cause disease. Disease symptoms may include diarrhea, cramps, nausea and possibly jaundice as well as associated headaches and fatigue. These symptoms, however, are not just associated with disease-causing organisms in drinking water but may be caused by a number of factors other than your drinking water. The NYSDOH has set enforceable requirements for treating drinking water to reduce the risk of these adverse health effects. Treatments such as filtering and disinfection of the water removes or destroys microbiological contaminants. 11109739