POUND RIDGE, N.Y.—The Pound Ridge Town Board has officially established the Scotts Corners Water District, an $11 million initiative designed to bring safe drinking water to the hamlet.
The district was authorized by the New York State Comptroller’s Office in June.
“This project is fundamentally about drinking water and public health,” said Town Supervisor Kevin Hansan. “Scotts Corners has faced water quality challenges for many years. After extensive study and review, the town determined that connection to an existing public water supply is the most effective long-term solution for protecting residents, supporting local businesses, and preserving the vitality of our historic town center.”
The unanimous July 7 vote to accept the state’s final order came after months of sometimes heated public discussions about the necessity, costs, legality and future impacts of the project.
Still hanging out in left field is legal action taken by one property owner who claimed the town’s application to the state was invalid. That suit was dismissed in 2025, but an appeal has been filed.
Unlike most residential properties in Pound Ridge, where homes typically sit on two or more acres, the properties in Scotts Corners are small, with private wells and septic systems located in close proximity, the town pointed out.
Groundwater contamination by historic pollutants and emerging contaminants such as PFAS has created regulatory challenges for businesses, making continued reliance on those wells “unsustainable,” it said.
The discovery of these “forever chemicals” has triggered notices of violation from the county Department of Health.
Legacy contaminants found in well water were MTBE, a gasoline additive and byproduct linked to a leaky tank at a now-defunct gas station; PCE, a solvent used by a local dry cleaner; and BTEX, chemicals found in petroleum.
Property owners and residents in Scotts Corners voted 20-15 to approve the special public water district in a referendum held in the fall of 2024. It would serve 39 parcels along Westchester Avenue.
One of the concerns raised by the public is that creating a public water supply could have undesirable consequences, such as the overdevelopment of Scotts Corners.
According to the town’s July 10 statement, the project is designed “to serve existing needs” and is “not intended to support future development, only to provide clean drinking water at current usage levels.”
It will not require new wastewater infrastructure, as some members of the public had feared, it added.
Ellen Ivens of the Water and Wastewater Task Force gave an overview of testing for PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” from 30 sampling sites.
The current maximum contaminant level allowable for PFAS is 10 parts per trillion, but that is proposed to be lowered to 4 parts per trillion.
Out of 14 monitoring wells, nine were above that standard, Ivens said, adding that the findings “underscore the need to provide reliably clean drinking water to the area.”
Among those speaking July 7 against the project was resident Scott Fernqvist, who is seeking to have his Westchester Avenue property excluded from the district.
There is still lots of opposition to the project and many questions remain unanswered, he claimed.
Fernqvist claimed that there’s been “little meaningful engagement with those of us who will be directly affected by this project and who have raised legitimate concerns about its necessity, governance, costs, and fairness,” he said.
“Good government is not about dismissing dissent or simply building support for a predetermined outcome. It is about acknowledging legitimate concerns, identifying weaknesses in a proposal, and working collaboratively to find solutions that earn the confidence of the entire community,” he added.
Resident John Nathan, who doesn’t own property within the district, reiterated that he is neither for nor against the project itself but is concerned about the process.
Calling it “a cloud hanging over this whole thing,” he chastised the town for not mentioning the lawsuit in any of its communications to residents.
Maybe, in the end, the town will again prevail, but the case still “affects this whole situation” and should be laid out for all residents — not just the folks in Scotts Corners — “so they could come in and make an informed judgment,” Nathan said.
“So I must say that I’m not only disappointed, I’m astonished, that after my plea last time to make this a matter of public record, you chose not to do so,” he told the board.
John McCown, a former candidate for town supervisor, had a long list of questions he felt needed to be answered, including what impact the recent acquisition of Aquarion by the state of Connecticut might have on the company’s willingness to provide water to Scotts Corners.
(On July 1, 2026, the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority formally closed a $2.4 billion deal to purchase Aquarion Water Co. from Eversource. Aquarion is now a quasi-public political subdivision of the state, operating as a standalone not-for-profit utility, according to media reports.)
McCown submitted a letter to that effect that was signed by 46 residents, including 12 who had businesses or resided within the water district.
“If I was a numerologist, I might say it means the board is at the craps table rolling the dice with taxpayer monies. But I will say this project involves poor planning and worse disclosure,” he said.
Jill Faber, a member of the town’s Economic Development Committee and a state assistant attorney general, challenged those who weren’t in favor of the project to come up with suggestions for how clean water can be provided “in a way they think is more appropriate.”
Noting that Pound Ridge has “spent years figuring out a way to do this at the least possible cost,” she urged folks to recognize those efforts.
There are other nearby towns that don’t have municipal water and “wish they did,” Faber said.
After the public had its say, Hansan defended the town for doing its due diligence.
“This project is not about development. This project is about drinking water. The suggestion that this project was poorly planned ignores the decades of work that brought us here today,” he said.
As for the possibility of a public sewer system down the road, the town “has studied wastewater options, and will continue evaluating solutions that protect our environment and support the future of Scotts Corners,” Hansan said, adding: “But we should not ignore a drinking water issue today, because there may be additional infrastructure improvements considered tomorrow.”
“Doing nothing does not remove contaminants from the wells. Doing nothing does not improve public health. Doing nothing does not solve the reality that our historic business district is operating with infrastructure from another era,” he concluded.
According to the town, the district’s creation follows years of engineering studies, environmental review, public meetings, a referendum of district property owners and extensive review by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation and the Office of the New York State Comptroller.
The intent is to connect the district to an existing treated water storage tank owned and operated by Aquarion Water Co., which is located at the Pound Ridge Golf Club on High Ridge Road.
Hansan said that Aquarion will supply water to the district under a forthcoming agreement with the town, consistent with a “Water Supply Agreement Term Sheet” that was executed last March.
Aquarion will be responsible for ensuring water quality, he added.
The town is following a public water/private septic model that’s been used successfully in other northern Westchester communities such as Bedford and Lewisboro.
The source of drinking water will change from wells to a treated public supply while existing septic systems will continue to be used, Hansan said.
Acknowledging concerns over the project’s cost, Hansan emphasized that the town has “pursued every available opportunity to obtain outside funding.”
He also pointed out that postponing investment in “critical infrastructure” often leads to increased construction, labor, engineering and financing costs over time.
In his statement on July 7, Hansan addressed the impact of waiting on costs.
He pointed to the “reality” of the Pound Ridge Fire District’s firehouse expansion project, which “began with one set of cost assumptions, but as time passed and the project moved through approvals and construction, market conditions changed dramatically.”
“Inflation, labor costs, and materials increased significantly, impacting the final cost, resulting in a call to raise more tax dollars to support it,” Hansan said.
In order to soften the financial burden on property owners within the district, the town secured a “highly competitive” $7.6 million Water Infrastructure Improvement Act grant, which will fund 70 percent of eligible construction costs.
(There will be no cost impacts on taxpayers who aren’t located in the water district.)
Property owners in the district will not be required to connect to the public water system, but those who choose to do so will not be charged a hookup fee.
They may be eligible for reimbursement of up to $10,000 for other connection costs under New York State’s Private Well PFAS Testing and Mitigation Rebate Pilot Program.
For more information, visit health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/privatewellspilot.
Next steps include the completion of engineering and permitting. The process will be discussed at public meetings of the Town Board and Planning Board.
Neighboring property owners will receive notifications about these meetings, and meeting dates and times will be announced on the town’s website calendar.
For more information, contact the Town Clerk’s Office or visit townofpoundridge.gov.
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