RyeCity REVIEW THE
March 29, 2019 | Vol. 7, Number 13 | www.ryecityreview.com
Westchester receives opioid grant from Dept. of Labor Simon is hosting its annual Easter celebration festivities at The Westchester offering families the chance to participate in traditional and unique seasonal events. For more, see page 5.
Haloacetic acid levels found in WJWW water supply The Westchester Joint Water Works system recently violated a drinking water standard. Although this incident was not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we are doing to correct this situation. Quarterly water samples were taken for haloacetic acids on April 23, 2018; July 23, 2018; Oct. 22, 2018; and Jan. 22, 2019. The total haloacetic acid concentrations were 69, 70, 53, and 53 parts per billion (ppb), respectively, and averaged 61 ppb for the last year at one location. At another location, the total haloacetic acid concentrations were 86, 71,42 and 71 ppb, and averaged 68 ppb for the last year. These average levels are slightly above the state and federal drinking water standard of 60 ppb total haloacetic acids as a running annual average of four quarterly samples. What should I do? There is nothing you need to do unless you have a severely com-
promised immune system, have an infant or are elderly. These people may be at increased risk and should seek advice about drinking water from their healthcare providers. You do not need to boil your water or take other corrective actions. What does this mean? This is not an emergency. If it had been an emergency, you would have been notified within 24 hours. Haloacetic acids are disinfection byproducts formed during treatment of drinking water by chlorine, the most commonly used disinfectant in New York State. Drinking water is disinfected by public water suppliers to kill bacteria and viruses that could cause serious illnesses. For this reason, disinfection of drinking water by chlorination is beneficial to public health. The presence of haloacetic acids at the concentrations detected in the water system does not constitute an immediate health hazard. The standard for haloacetic acids is set at a water concentration at which expo-
sure is much lower than exposures identified as causing health effects in animals. Thus, exceedance of the standard is not a trigger for health effects, but a trigger for water suppliers to take action to reduce the haloacetic acid concentrations and maintain what is already a large margin of protection against health effects. The risks for adverse health effects from the haloacetic acids in the drinking water are small compared to the risk for illness from drinking inadequately disinfected water. What happened? What is being done? As haloacetic acids are formed by natural organic materials exposure to chlorine used for disinfection. The amount of time this material is exposed to chlorine increases the formation of disinfection byproducts. An immediate mitigation we have implemented is reducing the amount of chlorine levels in the system to more efficiently treat the water for pathogens which assists to
prevent these formation of disinfection byproducts. We will also be obtaining a consultant to study and review system operations to determine if system infrastructure modification or new treatment measures can be deployed to reduce the levels of disinfection byproducts in our water system. This study will be completed by May. The Westchester Joint Water Works, WJWW, is a non-profit public benefit corporation consisting of the member municipalities of the village of Mamaroneck, town of Mamaroneck and the town/village of Harrison. The WJWW supplies water on a retail basis to its member municipalities and to portions of the city of Rye and the city of New Rochelle. For more information, please contact Frank Arcara, chief water treatment plant operator, at 698-3500 or the county Department of Health at 813-5000. (Submitted)
Westchester County has received a grant from the New York State Department of Labor to assist local communities that have been affected by the opioid epidemic. The grant money, which totals $346,205, was allocated to Westchester to help train the employees who treat those battling addiction and substance abuse. “No community is immune to the opioid crisis, and unfortunately there is a shortage of people who are trained to treat these individuals in Westchester,” said County Executive George Latimer. “This funding, which is awarded to our Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board, will provide training and employment services to our workforce so we can better serve the communities that are struggling.”A number of Westchester County departments and community partners will work in tandem to provide management, training and leadership for those who will eventually treat victims of substance abuse, including Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board, Westchester County departments of Social Services and Community Mental Health, Westchester Career Centers, Westmed Medical Group, the National Council of Alcohol and Drug Dependence of Westchester, Westchester Community College and WestCOP. “This grant will allow us to employ our residents who are eager to find or return to work while
at the same time providing the necessary training to help those who are affected by the crisis that is affecting our community and state,” said Thomas Kleiner, executive director of the Westchester-Putname Workforce Development Board. Participants will be required to attend a four-week “boot camp” of employment training that covers job skills, resume development, interviewing, self-esteem building and job showering. Following the boot camp, specialized employment and training activities will prepare participants for one of the following jobs: certified peer recovery support specialist, mental health technician, behavioral health recovery coach, paramedic and credential alcoholism and substance abuse counselor. “This grant fills a real need,” said Kevin McGuire, commissioner of the county Department of Social Services. “Opioid addiction has been growing in Westchester County, particularly in communities that have seemed to have previously been immune from the scourge of addiction. This grant will allow us to train people to deal with this increase of those suffering from addiction.” The program is intended to serve all the communities in Westchester, with a primary focus on the cities of Peekskill, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle. (Submitted)
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