Rules Governing Our Operation
Under the federal Surface Water Treatment Rule, surface supplies such as that used by the City of New York require filtration unless certain rigid requirements can be met. New York City's filtration avoidance of its Catskill-Delaware supply was renewed in November 2002. This filtration avoidance is ongoing and is anticipated to remain in effect into the future. This filtration avoidance applies to the Shaft 22 aqueduct connection.

Despite the fact that the Water Works considers that it meets all filtration avoidance criteria at Rye Lake, New York State initiated an enforcement action against the Water Works in September, 1999. That action seeks to require the Water Works to build a filtration plant for the Rye Lake supply.

The enforcement action is based on the premise that the Water Works did not meet filtration avoidance criteria in 1991, and therefore must now build a filtration plant, irrespective of the quality of the water. However, both the Environmental Protection Agency and various states in a number of cases have allowed water systems to avoid filtration after 1991, even though the system had not previously been in full compliance with the Surface Water Treatment Rule.

The Water Works continues to contest the lawsuit brought by the State, but has authorized the design of a treatment plant in accordance with a previous agreement with the State.