It’s hot. And you’re thirsty. But when you turn on
the tap in Southeast Queens, put out your glass, and watch it fill up with
heat-relieving water, another questions comes to mind . . . is this safe
to drink?
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Deputy
Commissioner Douglas Greeley sat down in a private interview with the PRESS
because he knows the neighborhood is worried, and he wants to set aside
fears. He assured Queens that the water is safe to drink, that
contaminated water is not being pumped into their homes, and offered a
review of the history and geology of the water issue.
|
Where
Does Queens Water Come From? |
Greeley explained that the water Queens drinks is
pumped in from the Croton, Catskill and Delaware reservoirs, reservoirs
being hit by the drought. However, in Queens there is a "Potential
resource sitting right under our feet" in the form of what is called
the Brooklyn Queens Aquifer. An "Aquifer" is a natural
geological formation that captures and holds groundwater. The upper most
level is effected by rain that seeps through the soil and into the earth.
Lower layers are under natural and protective clay dividers that keep rain
water from reaching it. The further you drill down, the more expensive to
drill and pump up, but the purer the water.
However, Greeley explained, it is cheaper to pump from
the reservoirs than to pump up from the aquifer. A study had been planned
to develop the best use for the aquifer resource, but an immediate action
plan is now in place to use the aquifer water in fighting the drought.
The problem – and the fear — Greeley explained, all
stems from the aquifer’s past.
Greeley said that in 1886, Jamaica Water was
"given the authority to take so much water a day." That
authority, granted by the municipality, let them drill, pump and sell
water for a profit to the people living in neighborhoods that now include
Jamaica, St. Albans and Ozone Park.
Jamaica water kept on in the business of pumping and
selling water in Queens for 110 years, until 1996, Greeley said, and in
its last years, Jamaica Water’s customers were calling on the City for
help.
"They were screaming for rate equity,"
Greeley explained, as they paid 40 percent more for water and it
"wasn’t as good" as City water. Since Jamaica Water was a
for-profit company, they were organized to make a profit and
"promptly turned off" water supplies if customers didn’t pay,
Greeley said.
Meanwhile, Jamaica had changed from what it was in
1886. Mixed uses developed on land that had only been residential when
Jamaica Water started to tap the top of the aquifer. During the 70s,
according to Greeley, a dry cleaning plan was filling 10,000 gallon drums
of dry cleaning fluid on their land and spills would happen in the course
of business. When they went out of business in 1982, they left behind
contaminated soil that contaminated in turn the upper aquifer.
Greeley also spoke of the flooding in Southeast Queens,
and expressed his amazement and concern over what the neighborhoods have
had to endure. He explained that in an attempt to bring down Jamaica Water’s
rates, a deal was made to supply the company with City water at a
more-than-cheap fee. The added water would supplement the company’s
supply and allow them to lower their rates while still making a profit.
However, the side effect of the deal was that Jamaica
Water stopped pumping as much water out of the aquifer, and the ground
water level rose . . . by 32 feet, Greeley said.
Buildings built in the drought of 1965 now found their
basements or first floors four feet below the ground water level, Greeley
said, and he named the Carter Houses, the Jamaica Houses and I.S. 8 as a
few examples.
|
Why
Worry About The Aquifer? |
When Jamaica Water stopped pumping in 1996, the DEP –
which had been studying the resources of the Brooklyn Queens Aquifer –
needed to come up with a working plan. But the Station 6 well was located
next to the Westside Corporation site . . . the "largest inactive
waste site in New York City," Greeley said. Testing indicated that
there were "Dry cleaning fluid and gasoline additives" in the
upper most part of the aquifer and clean up would be essential before many
of the wells could be used.
The City DEP went into a partnership with the State
Department of Environmental Conservation, Greeley explained, in an attempt
to move the project along quickly. The State would clean the soil
contamination and the City would take care of the water. But without the
soil cleanup first, rain water could once again spread contamination into
the aquifer.
State budget issues have stalled the land cleanup, and
Greeley said that the City is looking into the process of condemning the
land so that the DEP could do the soil cleanup as well and keep the
project moving forward.
|
Meetings To Dig Deep Into
Well Water
Info |
In an active move to fight mis-information and water
quality fears, the DEP and the Borough President’s Office are organizing
to sit down with Queens residents to explain where the water comes from
and why.
Two informational meetings are being scheduled – one
for May 7 at 6 p.m. at Borough Hall and one for May 8 at 7 p.m. at York
College – to explain what the aquifer under Queens is and why it could
soon be providing Queens drinking water.
|
Groundwater
System Reactivation Plan |
| Station
No.’s |
Neighborhoods |
Max.
Potential Capacity
(MGD) |
Current
Status |
| 5,
5A, 10, 10A, 23A, 32, 36, 39A,
43A, 50A, 53A, 56, 59 |
Cambria
Heights,
Holliswood,
Ozone Park,
Valley Stream,
Queens Village,
Hillcrest,
Kew Gardens,
Springfield Gardens,
St. Albans |
21.7 |
Station
Available |
| 48, 48A, 54 |
Hollis,
Bellaire,
Cambria Heights |
4.0 |
Awaiting DOH
Approval |
| 7, 7B, 13,
13A, 14, 21, 21A, 50, 58 |
Queens
Village,
South Jamaica,
South Ozone Park,
Bellerose,
Kew Gardens Hills,
Jamaica Estates |
10.3 |
Requires Minor
Upgrades |
| 22,
26A, 27, 38, 38A, 43, 45, 51, 52, 53, 55 |
Hillcrest,
Kew Gardens,
Hollis,
St. Albans,
Holliswood,
Ozone Park |
15.4 |
Needs New
Equipment |
The meeting plan stemmed out of a quick response by
Borough President Helen Marshall to questions at the April 16 Borough
Cabinet meeting.
DEP Deputy Commissioner Douglas Greeley was on the
agenda to discuss the Jamaica Aquifer, and he explained that confusion and
fears about contamination in the water have been widespread.
He began by explaining that the activation of the
Jamaica wells is a plan that was created only in response to the drought
emergency.
The current "groundwater system reactivation
plan" was created to help in a drought situation, Greeley said,
noting that the reservoir levels have risen some and by June the City will
know for certain whether a full-fledge drought will be in effect. The
first stage of the plan involves 13 wells that could be pumping 21.7
million gallons of water per day into the neighborhoods of Ozone Park,
Queens Village, Hillcrest, Holliswood, Kew Gardens, Cambria Heights,
Springfield Gardens, St. Albans and Valley Stream. He said that there
first phase wells were shut down for fiscal reasons and as a precautionary
measure in the face of Y2K. Some of these wells have already been
reactivated and the rest are ready to go on line right away.
The next phase, Greeley explains, includes three
pumping stations that are currently being flushed and tested by the
Department of Health to check the quality and purity of the water. Once
testing is complete, those wells could be providing water for Hollis,
Bellaire and Cambria Heights by the end of the month.
The remaining two phases of well openings would take
between "several months" and "six to eight months" and
would involve 20 wells. Nine of those wells — located in Bellerose, Kew
Gardens Hills, Jamaica Estates, Queens Village, South Jamaica, South Ozone
Park – need "minor upgrades" before they can start pumping.
The remaining wells, which could serve Hillcrest, Kew Gardens, Holliswood,
Ozone Park, St. Albans and Hollis, would require special filters to be
built.
|
Where
Else Is The Water Going? |
Greeley said that at a preliminary meeting with the
Port Authority their use of the aquifer water for airport cleaning and
irrigation was discussed . . . water uses that do not involve human
consumption and therefore alleviate some concerns. The water which is
being pumped to maintain ground water levels is also available to the
Parks Department, Sanitation Department or the Department of
Transportation for cleaning if they can use it and want it, Greeley said.
|
I
Will Never Forget Mr. Marshall |
Speaking to the full gathering at this week’s Borough
Cabinet meeting, Greeley stated his commitment to uncovering the water
problems in Southeast Queens and to finding solutions.
He spoke of a community meeting where "Mr.
Marshall, I will never forget that name, Mr. Marshall," told the DEP
that he had to shut down the sewer valves to his house and several others
when it rained because the sewage would back up. The DEP’s response was
that it couldn’t possibly be true, and so they went to Mr. Marshall’s
house. Greeley described the valve he saw, and the detective work that
lead the DEP back to an inadequate and over-strained sewage system. Mr.
Marshall was right, the DEP is finding solutions, and Greeley promised
that he is not going to let the problems go un-addressed.
There are "many years of distrust in the Jamaica
community is not going to go away overnight," Greeley said, but he
made a commitment to making it change.
