North Castle, Summit Club Appear Ready to Sign Water Agreement
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
A solution to provide water to 73 proposed condominiums in Armonk may be near after a plan was discussed last week to create separate water subdistricts that should protect the supplies of neighboring homeowners.
Summit Club Partners and the town are close to an agreement that would see the developer use wells on its 156-acre property to supply the luxury residences once they are built, golf course clubhouse and other amenities without using water from the rest of North Castle’s Water District No. 2 or commingling the supplies. The remainder of the district, including about 370 Windmill Farm homeowners across Route 22, would continue to use its water source as it is currently doing.
During the more than decade-long review of the project, The Summit Club agreed to join town Water District No. 2 to make sure it had enough water for its needs while agreeing to pay for costly improvements and contributing to capital repairs. However, Windmill Farm residents became increasingly concerned that the golf course and condominium community could either draw down their supply or could contaminate the district’s water with the use of any pesticides on the golf course.
To comply with the requirement of having output that is twice the amount needed for the project, The Summit Club was required to test for additional wells in well fields often referred to as the gravel pits near Windmill Farm, However, attempts to find up to 100 gallons a minute turned out to be fruitless.
Under the proposed agreement, which could be approved at the Town Board’s May 24 meeting, the current Water District No. 2, except for The Summit Club, would continue operating as it is now doing and be considered Water District No. 2A, while Summit’s supply for their property’s project would be considered Water District No. 2B.
The applicant’s hydrogeologist, Tom Cusack, said during the May 11 work session with the Town Board that when The Summit Club’s property was pump tested nearly a decade ago, it produced about 180 gallons a minute.
Councilman Saleem Hussain asked Cusack if The Summit Club’s wells are in the same aquifer what kind of effect that could have on the remainder of the district, including Windmill. Cusack said they share the same bedrock aquifer but that should not present a problem.
“There were no significant impacts during the previous pump test and we expect that to be the same,” Cusack said.
Current water usage estimates for the project are now about 30 gallons a minute, requiring Summit to find only about 60 gallons a minute, he said.
Next month Summit is expected to conduct a 72-hour performance test, Cusack said.
Despite the encouraging news presented by the applicant, several Windmill residents wanted greater assurances that Summit’s usage would not be a burden on neighboring water customers. Resident Garrett Kennedy said he would like to have data that is derived from the 72-hour pump test to be provided early to nearby residents when they are submitted to the regulatory agencies, the Westchester County Department of Health and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
“Given so much of the data is nearly 10 years old, I think (that’s) only appropriate and just, given the potential that it is going to have on a significant portion of the Armonk population,” Kennedy said.
The Town Board indicated at its regular meeting last Wednesday evening it will likely vote on the agreement at its next meeting.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
