United Water, which supplies drinking water for 270,000 Rockland County residents, has cut the ribbon on a pilot plant in West Haverstraw where scientists and engineers are studying how best to make the Hudson River a source of clean, potable water.
Based on targets and mandates set by the Public Service Commission in 2006, United Water was tasked finding an alternative drinking water source for Rockland”™s growing community.
After conducting a review of the options available, including building a reservoir at Ambrey Pond in Stony Point and reusing wastewater, company officials concluded the most cost-effective and sustainable option was a treatment plant to purify water drawn from the river.
United Water is considering a former brownfield site in West Haverstraw for the construction of the full-scale desalinization plant once its test facility has made its recommendations. Michael Pointing, United Water”™s vice president and general manager, said the 10-acre parcel, situated near the Hudson, will pipe water into the plant, expected to be built and in service by December, 2015 and producing 7.5 million gallons of potable water a day.
“Plants of this nature are used around the United States to bring purified water to people every day,” Pointing said. “Over a dozen communities along the Hudson already use the river to supply residents with drinking water.”
United Water”™s plant will be unique in that it will be the first to desalinate the water taken from the river, a factor other communities that rely on the Hudson for drinking water do not contend with, since the point where the fresh water and salt water no longer mingle is at the border of Poughkeepsie. United Water plans to use a combination of traditional water treatment and reverse osmosis to provide a drought-resistant source of drinking water.
“Rockland County”™s population is growing at a faster rate than its water supply and continued development is expected in the future,” said Pointing. “This means Rockland”™s residents face a growing risk of more frequent and more severe water shortages, especially during droughts. Just this year, on July 5, we had the highest recorded demand for water in a single day: 47.31 million gallons. That”™s an increase of almost one million gallons over the previous peak. A new source of water is needed to ensure Rockland will always have a safe, reliable water supply.
“The New York State Health Department is fully aware of the technology we are developing for the plant,” he continued. “It will meet and exceed all of the state and federal drinking water standards. Our goal is to provide clean drinking water at a cost-effective price,” said Pointing.
The company”™s draft environmental impact statement is currently with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and Pointing said there is no doubt it is being reviewed as expeditiously as possible.
