NEW YORK: VILLAGE OF CLINTON AND TOWN OF KIRKLAND Ordinance for Small Ground Water Public Water System in Rural NY Background Location: The Town of Kirkland is in Oneida County in Central New York; the Village of Clinton is located near the town's center. Water Supply: Clinton has six public water supply wells that serve approximately 3,000 residents in the village and in bordering areas of the town. Source Water Assessment: The New York State Department of Health completed a source water assessment for the village water system and found the major threat to be pathogens and toxic chemicals used at or discharged from facilities in the assessment area. Priority Contamination Threat The priority contamination threats include toxic chemicals and pathogens used at or discharged from facilities in the assessment area. Local Team and Developing the Protection Plan The Regional Planning Council led the team which consisted of representation from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, County Department of Health, two municipalities (Clinton and Kirkland), public, and academia to develop the wellhead protection ordinance. Management Measures The goal of the project was to develop a wellhead protection ordinance modeled after one adopted by another Oneida County municipality. A committee consisting of representatives of the state environmental agency, the county department of health, citizens, elected officials from the two municipalities and a geology professor at a local college was formed and met regularly on a monthly basis. One of the first tasks of the Committee was to refine the wellhead delineation contained in previous assessments in order to make it legally defensible as part of future land use regulations. Contingency Plans All New York public water systems serving above 3300 people must currently have emergency response plans that can be used if there are source or distribution contamination issues. These include alternate sources, interconnections with other public water systems, use of bottled water, use of water from certified bulk haulers that is Office of Water (4606M) 816F10029 January 2010 ------- guaranteed to meet drinking water standards, and in some cases, additional treatment is available. In addition, there are requirements for all public water systems that suffer broken water mains or find contamination to notify their customers, and to boil water before use if appropriate. Some water systems have additional contingency plans. Evaluating Program Results The product has been the creation of wellhead protection ordinances that are specific to each of the two municipalities yet have the common goal of protecting the wellhead area that crosses municipal boundaries. The ordinances establish zoning overlay districts for various wellhead protection zones and mandate land-use restrictions and/or performance standards within these areas. For further information, contact: Jessica Breiten, Chief Planner Herkimer-Oneida Counties Comprehensive Planning Program (315)798-5710 ibreiten@ocgov.net Office of Water (4606M) 816F10029 January 2010 ------- |