Columnist David McKay Wilson talks about changes in the plan for Westchester County Airport since George Latimer took over as county executive.
FiOS Westchester has discovered groundwater contamination at the county airport, with officials suspecting it was caused by chemicals used in firefighting foam decades ago.
Preliminary results from one monitoring well, located near a former Air National Guard septic field, found contaminants in concentrations that were 14 times the limit set by the US Environmental Protection Agency health advisory.
The airport borders the Kensico Reservoir, which provides drinking water to New York City and some Westchester residents.
Tests of the Kensico Reservoir have found no evidence that the contamination has seeped into the water supply, a state official said.
One well found concentrations of 990 parts per trillion, said Sean Mahar, the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s assistant commissioner for public affairs.
The first detection — at 96 parts per trillion — was made at a well serving an office building at 1-3 New King Street in North Castle, which lies just north of the airport, and across Interstate 684 from the Rye Lake section of Kensico Reservoir, said Mahar.
Connecticut health and environmental officials were also notified.
The Brunswick School, a private high school located off King Street in Greenwich, was also notified.
Westchester on Nov. 15 tested the groundwater at the airport, using eight wells, between 13 and 52 feet below ground, which were part of the county’s groundwater monitoring program, from 2001 to 2011.