Scarsdale Man Files Water Quality Claim .... But Who Will Pay the Damages?

While some Scarsdale residents are alarmed enough about our water supply to drink only bottled water, one Scarsdale man is taking his concerns much further.

Steven Blau, an attorney for Jeffrey Levin of Scarsdale, has filed a federal complaint charging that Westchester's Water District #1 violated a 2006 EPA ruling requiring them to treat this area's water supply with ultra-violet light by 2012. The treatment would prevent contamination of the water supply by cryptosporidium. He also claims that the water district misled customers by failing to disclose the full terms of a 2015 consent order with the EPA over its failure to meet federal drinking water standards. According to Blau his client may have gotten sick from the water when he "experienced symptoms consistent with these organisms."

Since the county failed to build the plant, the EPA settlement now requires the water district to include notifications in water bills advising users that the water supply could contain high levels of cryptosporidium that may cause a threat to the elderly, children and those with compromised immune systems.

There's no question that the county failed to comply with the EPA order. However, there is also no proof that the water supply is dangerous. According to the Scarsdale Village website, the Annual Drinking Water Quality Report for 2015 shows that, "Importantly, although the water supply is not presently subject to ultra-violet treatment, ongoing routine testing has not detected any Cryptosporidium exceedance in Scarsdale drinking water. Such testing will continue through completion of the necessary treatment facility upgrades."

Westchester County has implemented a Cryptosporidium action plan, which includes weekly monitoring of water taken from the Kensico Reservoir for the presence of cryptosporidium. The results are posted on the County's website weekly, and can be found here:

In addition, the EPA settlement requires notification in water bills, so all affected customers should be aware of the issue.

We spoke to Blau to ask what he hoped to accomplish with the lawsuit and he said, "Several things ... Avoid another Flint Michigan or Milwaukee, achieve recognition of the problem and try to get relief in the water bill while the water is not in compliance. We want to get a discount to the consumer."

However, it should be noted that one of the reasons that the County failed to comply with the original order was that they claimed that they did not have the funds.

In order to pay for the treatment plant and extensive upgrades to Scarsdale's sanitary sewer lines, the Village of Scarsdale now bills residents a sewer rent fee on their water bills. These funds, along with the fees for water usage are being used to fund the new treatment plant. According to Scarsdale's Deputy Village Manager Robert Cole, "Fees collected by Scarsdale fund both local and county infrastructure needs. Whenever the county pays a penalty associated with compliance or facility construction, the fee/penalty is passed on to water users through rates or taxes."

So even if Blau and Levin were successful with their lawsuit, the cost of the penalty would, in the end, be paid by these same water customers.