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PR UNITED STATES SUES NEW YORK CITY FOR FAILING TO FILTER CROTON WATER SUPPLY

Release Date: 04/24/97
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FOR RELEASE: Thursday, April 24, 1997

New York, N.Y. -- Moving to protect public health under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the United States today sued New York City for violating SDWA requirements by failing to filter drinking water from its Croton water supply. The Croton watershed, located just north of New York City, supplies ten percent of the city's drinking water, and in drought conditions supplies up to 30 percent. Drinking water from the Croton system does not pose an immediate threat to public health but filtration is required to assure the safety of the water supply.

The federal Safe Drinking Water Act requires that all surface water systems, such as Croton, filter water by June 1993, unless stringent public health criteria are met to make filtration unnecessary. Filtering drinking water substantially reduces the risk of waterborne disease in surface water systems, which are more susceptible to potential contamination from human and animal wastes, and from microbial contaminants such as giardia and cryptosporidium. Cryptosporidium has been a contributing cause of death in some immuno-compromised people, including people with AIDS and HIV, chemotherapy patients and organ transplant patients.

Under the law, New York City could have applied for a filtration waiver for the Croton system if it had demonstrated exceptional water quality and showed that water quality could be protected without filtering by implementing strict watershed protection measures. New York City did not apply for a waiver for the Croton system and has failed to implement its agreement with the state to build a filtration plant. EPA determined that filtration was required to ensure protection of public health.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, was brought jointly by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This lawsuit seeks to ensure that the law's public health protections are secured with a reasonable and enforceable schedule for construction of a filtration plant. While EPA is seeking the most expeditious schedule possible, the choice of the site for the filtration plant is up to the city. EPA is sensitive to local siting concerns and will allow reasonable time for the city to complete an objective study of all sites. New York State anticipates that it will be intervening in this lawsuit to ensure filtration in compliance with applicable state statutes.

"Safe drinking water is our first line of defense in protecting public health," said Steven M. Herman, EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "Today's action is necessary to protect the health of the more than one million New Yorkers who drink Croton water. We want to work with the city to provide citizens with safe, clean drinking water they can depend on."

"While we are moving today to ensure the filtration of the Croton system, filtration should always be accompanied by a strong watershed protection program to provide the most effective barrier against outbreaks of waterborne disease," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator.

"We brought this lawsuit today to ensure that New Yorkers have safe water to drink," said Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "All Americans should be able to rely on the safety of the water that flows from their faucets."

"Along with our state colleagues, we hope to resolve this matter promptly and reach our common goal of bringing the city into compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act," said United States Attorney Zachary W. Carter. "Consumers of New York City's water expect and are entitled to safe and high quality drinking water."

In 1991, New York City stated that it would filter the Croton system due to the potential long term effects of increased pollution in its densely developed watershed. The city entered into an agreement the following year with New York State to build a filtration plant for Croton by the year 2000. The city has since failed to implement its schedule to construct the facility, and is currently in violation of the state agreement.

While New York City currently disinfects the Croton water supply before distribution, disinfection alone is not sufficient to eliminate all disease-causing microorganisms. In addition to disinfection, filtration and source water protection are necessary to provide city residents with a safe water supply. According to federal health guidelines, people with severely compromised immune systems should consult with a physician before drinking any water and should comply fully with any water advisories issued by public health and government authorities.

Since 1991, New York City has requested and EPA has granted three filtration waivers for the Catskill/Delaware system, which supplies 90 percent of New York City's drinking water. The Catskill/Delaware system is not the subject of this action, but the city must meet strict water quality conditions in order to continue to avoid filtering water from this system.

In January, federal officials notified New York City of their intent to file the lawsuit and began negotiations with the city. The US Government plans additional negotiations to try to reach a settlement agreement with an enforceable schedule to select and build a filtration plant.

Nationwide, there are more that 10,600 drinking water systems that have surface water sources. Of these systems, only 135 have demonstrated that they can avoid filtration by instituting aggressive watershed protection programs to maintain exceptional water quality. None receive water from areas as densely populated as the Croton watershed. The remainder of the nation's surface water systems are required to filter their water.


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