Katonah Municipal Well

Overview

The Katonah Municipal Well sits in the Town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York. A municipal well owned by the City of New York became contaminated with volatile organic compounds in the late 1970s. The Westchester County Health Department found the contamination in 1978 and traced it to dry cleaning businesses and a nearby septic waste collection facility that discharged process liquids into septic systems. Historical dumping of street cleaning debris in the area also contributed to aquifer contamination. The well was taken out of service immediately after the problem was found.

EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List in June 1986. The selected cleanup remedy, finalized in September 1987, included building a new municipal well, sealing the old contaminated well, and installing a water treatment facility with an air stripper and disinfection systems. Construction wrapped up in July 1992. Treated water flows into the Bedford Consolidated Water Distribution System. EPA deleted the site from the National Priorities List on March 20, 2000, after cleanup goals were met.

Seven contaminants of concern have been identified at the site. Groundwater contains benzene, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), tetrachloroethene, and trichloroethene. Chlordane and chloroform were found in soil. These are the substances that cleanup actions were designed to address.

Human exposure is under control and contaminated groundwater migration is stabilized, with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The site has achieved sitewide ready for anticipated use status, meaning all cleanup goals for current and reasonably anticipated future land uses have been met. However, the cleanup_progress section notes the site has not yet achieved sitewide ready for anticipated reuse status, so both claims appear in source documents. Physical construction of the cleanup is complete. Long-term groundwater monitoring continues under the Town of Bedford and its contractor, Chazen Companies. Four additional monitoring wells were installed in 2013 to improve groundwater data. The most recent five-year review was completed in May 2022.

Community members can review public records at two locations. The EPA Superfund Records Center is at 290 Broadway, 18th floor, New York City, reachable at (212) 637-4308. Documents are also available at the Katonah Village Library, 28 Bedford Road, Katonah, New York 10536.