Positive And Negative Impacts Of The Croton System

Croton’s Water Filtration Company has had many negative and positive impacts on the community and surrounding areas of the Bronx and Manhattan. This plant is one of the biggest constructions in New York’s City history. In 1993 there was a threat of contamination causing the plant to be shut down. The preparation for the plant started in 2004. This company had to abide by the state and federal regulations of drinking water. They had to think of the public health. They have been applying water to the community for many years. This company is mainly used in low-lying areas of the Bronx and Manhattan. In these locations the water can be carried by gravity. “The plant will supply about 100 million gallons of water a day to these areas” (Dunlap,
2015).
When starting a new project, things never go as plan. The Croton’s water filtration plant got sworn with a lot of angry people. The neighbors of the plant were upset because they felt as if the plant was forced on them. The community had rebelled against the plant project for years. “They saw themselves as being deprived of acres of parkland and made to suffer through the blasting necessary to remove 920,000 cubic yards of rock for a plant that could have been constructed elsewhere with far less disruption and at much less expense” (Dunlap, 2015). The Croton’s Water Plant really went over the budget building and constructing the plant causing taxpayers to come up with $3.7 billion. It took so long for the plant to operate because of the state and federal regulations causing the taxpayers to get angry. A news reporter names her story about the plant “Nearly 30 Years and $3.5 Billion Later, NYC Gets its First Filtration Plant” (Dunlap, 2015). The plant made some promises that were not fulfilled to the community. This stirred up anger for the surrounding areas near the plant. There was a promise made to people in the Bronx that there will be a good amount of jobs available to them with this plant. That promise was never fulfilled. Many of the jobs were granted to people who lived out of state. Only 20 percent of the workers were from the Bronx. “Before the pricey scheme to build a new filtration plant under Van Cortlandt park was approved by the City Council in 2004, supporters of the project boasted it would create 660 construction jobs and pumps $1.6 billion in economic benefits into the borough and city” (Beekman, 2012). Only 232 of 1,052 workers were hired from the Bronx. This data was released by Department of Environmental Protection. The plant also promised to invest in parks and playgrounds. The promise was delayed for the community after all of the construction for the plant.
There are quite a few positive impacts that this plant has on the community.
The water in New York has had problems with the taste, color, and odor. In different seasons and time of the year, the water conditions change causing those problems. Now the Croton’s plant will be able to provide clean, odorless water year-round. The filtration in the Croton’s plant will remove midge larva. The community and public will then have decent water to drink. “Filtration of the Croton system will significantly reduce the potential threats posed by microbial contaminants and help assure high water quality from the Croton system for decades to come” (Freud, 2003). All of the threats that might be in the water can be life threating to the people who drink the water. This plant will help the city in the years of 2022 to 2023. During that time Delaware will not have any water that is available to the New Yorkers. There are 190,000 people who live within this plant. All of them can drink water that can be contaminated. The filtration project will save lives and help the health of 190,000 civilians. “Microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, cryptosporidium and giardia pose potential health risks. They can cause various gastrointestinal disorders and can be potentially life threatening for immunocompromised individuals, for the elderly and for children” (Freud, 2003). New Yorkers complained about all the negative things that the Croton’s filtration plant cause but failed to see the big picture.
Safe water drinking is the big picture. People in the Bronx and the surrounding areas will now have safe, clean, clear, and odorless water throughout the year. This filtration project of the Croton’s plant will help the health and lives of others.
The Croton Water Filtration Plant has faced a lot of complications and interruptions while trying to fulfill their strategic focus.
It was very difficult to start on their project. The plant began getting daily fines from the federal government because of the slow progress. In 2004 this plant was denied beginning working on the filtration of the plant. The plant was providing high quality water but was still violating the standard color for water in the early 2000s. The plant had to be shut down because of that problem for an entire year. The plant went over budget causing a lot of people to wonder if it was all a scam. Rumors begin to spread because they believe that the plant was not necessary and that they continued to go more and more over the budget. “Large infrastructure projects in the city are always a bit messy, but with a history of fines, lawsuits, protests, cost overruns, disputed truths and accusations, the construction of the plant to filter Croton water have been one of the more controversial ever in the city. And while it’s not nearly as heated as it was in years past, the conflict continues” (Wisnieski, 2015). The plant was meeting all of the federal and state laws that by the time that the plant was complete it was long overdue. The project was very challenging and costly but, in the end, it was all worth it for clean water flowing to the
city.