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"I want to assure residents in Mount Vernon, Scarsdale, White Plains and Yonkers that their drinking water is safe," Westchester County Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler said in a statement. "Questions have been raised about a legal action brought by the Department of Justice regarding Water District No. 1's compliance with EPA regulations, but no public health advisories have been issued about the safety of the water relating to cryptosporidium and no reported cryptosporidium illnesses have been associated with the water supply."
She continued, stating, "The same water used by Water District No. 1 is continuously monitored for safety, tested weekly by New York City Department of Environmental Protection."
The complaint brought against the county claims that officials did not upgrade water filtration services to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The U.S. District Attorney's study suggests that by not upgrading water treatment systems, Westchester residents are susceptible to the microbial pathogen Cyrptospiridium, which can cause the potentially fatal illness, cryptosporidiosis.
"Regarding the lawsuit, the county has been continuously working with the member municipalities of Water District No. 1 to bring it into full compliance with EPA regulations," Amler said in the statement. "It is important to note that this is a regulatory issue dealing with enhanced water treatment. It is not about any specific health or safety violations because there are none."
Read the full U.S. District Attorney complaint against the county here.
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