Still waiting for access to reservoir

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Bronxites waiting to hear whether the public will gain regular access to the Jerome Park Reservoir are going to have to wait longer — perhaps up to another 11 months.

The news came at the latest meeting for the Croton Facility Monitoring Committee (CFMC), an oversight group that keeps tabs on the controversial Croton Water Filtration Plant that was partly built underneath the Van Cortlandt Golf Course. The plant, whose $3.2 billion price tag was four times its original estimate, came online in May.

Although several attendees remarked that the Jan. 21 meeting was much more civil than some in the past, members of the audience learned they may have to wait up to a year for a crucial piece in the plan to determine if the public could ever regularly access the Jerome Park Reservoir — which local activists have long sought.

Eric Landau, who represented the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) at the meeting, said the agency is waiting on an analysis by the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau.

“That analysis is in process now. It’s going to take some time, but we expect to have the analysis complete to us sometime this year,” he said.

DEP has long maintained that granting the public access to the reservoir represents a serious threat to the water supply. The water in the reservoir takes just 30 minutes to get into the distribution center, a spokesman explained.

After members elected Community Board 8 Chairman Dan Padernacht to serve as head of CFMC for the year, Mr. Landau gave a report from his agency. He was quick to say DEP had fulfilled all the commitments the agency made at the June meeting and beyond, including launching an educational program in local schools and hosting a pilot access program in the fall.

“Just to take a step back and take stock of it, there were a lot of commitments that were made in June and I think it’s important to note that all of those commitments have been not only made, but actually been followed up on and completed,” he said.

The pilot access program happened on Nov. 14 and 15, and between the educational tours and the free access, the reservoir had nearly 250 visits.

Croton Filtration Plant, Jerome Park Reservoir, Department of Environmental Protection, Eric Landau, Gary Axelbank, Isabel Angell
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