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Following a settlement announced by the US Department of Justice on Monday, June 24, Westchester Joint Water Works, which serves residents in Mamaroneck, Harrison, and parts of both Rye and New Rochelle, will be required to construct a drinking water filtration plant by July 2029.
The agreement follows a federal civil lawsuit filed by the US against the public water provider, the Town and Village of Harrison, and the Town and Village of Mamaroneck. The lawsuit alleged Westchester Joint Water Works violated the federal Safe Drinking Water Act in 2019 by failing to keep the presence of contaminants in drinking water below the level set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, officials said.
According to the Department of Justice, during the first, second, and third quarters of 2019, Westchester Joint Water Works supplied water exceeding legal limits for five regulated haloacetic acids known as “HAA5," as determined by testing performed by the water system and reported to the EPA.
Following these test results, the EPA then ordered the water provider to begin constructing a filtration plant by January 1, 2022, which it did not follow, according to officials.
The lawsuit against Westchester Joint Water Works was then filed to seek an injunction compelling the company to comply with administrative orders by constructing a filtration plant. In accordance with the agreement announced on Monday, the company will be required to build this plant, projected to cost $138 million, as well as pay a $600,000 civil penalty.
Additionally, the company will also be required to spend at least $900,000 on an environmental project to modify an extended detention basin in the Rye Lake portion of the Kensico Reservoir and manage invasive species in the area.
Finally, the company and Westchester municipalities included in the lawsuit will be required to pay New York a $650,000 civil penalty and at least $6.8 million on two state water quality benefit projects, according to officials.
"Today’s agreement kickstarts a path to ensuring a reliable and healthy source of water for 120,000 residents of Westchester County," said Todd Kim, the Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Kim continued, "The building of a much-needed water filtration plant will address the source of the Safe Drinking Water Act violations and will help secure the area’s long-term needs."
EPA Assistant Administrator David Uhlmann also commented on the settlement, saying, "Westchester residents should expect nothing less."
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