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 White Plains, NY - A major pact designed to protect drinking water for more than 1 million people in New York City and Westchester County has been completed and now awaits the acceptance of 10 Northern Westchester communities that surround the sensitive Croton Watershed area that protects the Croton Reservoir.
The Comprehensive Croton Watershed Water Quality Protection Plan, known as the The Croton Plan for Westchester, assesses conditions in the Croton Watershed, identifies water quality impacts and provides 53 recommendations to improve water quality, protect community character and prevent further water quality degradation. The plan was produced by the Westchester County Department of Planning, 10 Westchester municipalities and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The Croton Watershed in Westchester encompasses 177 square miles, 40% of the county’s land area. The reservoirs in the watershed provide 10% of the New York City drinking water supply.
County Executive Andy Spano said, “Drinking water is one of the most important resources we have. This is a comprehensive plan that recommends ways to protect the Croton Watershed by preserving open space, monitoring development and land use. This will not only protect New York City’s water supply but also our local private, community and municipal wells.”
The Croton Plan also contains substantial data and analyses on factors that can impact water quality: land use, development and open space preservation - information that can be used to substantiate grant applications for land use and water quality projects. The plan will assist municipalities in meeting their Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System obligations for New York State’s Phase II Stormwater Regulations.
Release of the plan was approved by the Northern Westchester Watershed Committee, a group of representatives of 10 municipalities, Westchester County and DEP that oversaw its development. The next step will be for the municipalities to take individual action to agree to the plan, as per the New York City Watershed Memorandum of Agreement of January 1997. Those municipalities are the Towns of Bedford, Cortlandt, Lewisboro, New Castle, North Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers, Yorktown and Village/Town of Mount Kisco.
Even as the plan was being finalized, implementation of its recommendations was underway as county, city and state agencies and the watershed towns employed the plan’s strategies through water quality and land acquisition programs, septic management practices, wastewater plant upgrades, education and outreach efforts and the adoption or modification of regulatory controls.
The Croton Plan process began after authorization to proceed was approved by each watershed municipality. The draft plan was released in June 2007 followed by two regional public meetings and a comment period that extended through October 2007. A "Response to Comments" report was issued in April 2008. The Watershed Committee determined that this report adequately acknowledged and addressed the public comments on the draft plan. In July 2009, the committee and DEP agreed to the final text for the Croton Plan, which incorporates many revisions and clarifications from the draft plan text.
The Croton Plan is available at www.westchestergov.com/crotonplan.
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the Phase II agreement.