Op-Ed By George Klein
Westchester Airport is polluted with carcinogenic PFAS chemicals. These substances have ruined water supplies in many places in the US, including nearby Newburgh, NY. In 2016, Newburgh was forced to shift away from its own polluted reservoir to the NYC system.
The water utility serving Mamaroneck and Harrison wants to build a drinking water treatment plant at the airport, which is owned by Westchester County.
Many groups such as Sierra Club, Purchase Environmental Protective Association, the Quaker Friends Meeting, and citizens nearby strongly object to the construction, because it may spread PFAS from the airport to the Kensico Reservoir.
The planned site for the construction is within the Kensico Reservoir watershed. Every body of water has a surrounding “watershed”, where liquids falling there eventually end up in the body of water.
What Are PFAS chemicals?
PFAS chemicals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a large class of synthetic chemicals. PFAS are highly carcinogenic substances whose presence is legally tolerated in tiny amounts, measured in parts per billion. Constructing the plant in the Kensico watershed could dislodge PFAS underneath the site and send appreciable amounts of PFAS into the groundwater channels leading into the Kensico Reservoir. This reservoir is a repository of drinking water consumed by most of Westchester’s population, including Yonkers and Mt Vernon, plus millions more people in New York City, in all about 9 million people.
Prudence, reason and common sense would dictate that we not gamble the drinking water of 9 million people.
Westchester Board of Legislators Faces a Decision
For this project to proceed at its current location, the water utility, the Westchester Joint Water Works, is trying to acquire the site in a land swap. Acreage currently owned by WJWW would be traded for acreage at the airport, owned by the county. Any property transactions involving county property must be approved by the Westchester County Board of Legislators.
What You Can Do Now
Contact your legislator and express your opinion of this plan. In Yonkers, this could be Shanae Williams, Jose Alvarado, David Tubiolo, or James Nolan. In Mt Vernon, it’s Tyrae Woodson-Samuels.
George Klein lives in Ossining and is Vice Chairman of the Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group, which includes Westchester (SierraLowerHudson.org).
Editor’s Note: Yonkers water is at risk because Yonkers gets its drinking water from the Kensico Reservoir, as does Mt Vernon.
