HomeMy WebLinkAboutI - 06a Cortland County Soil & Water Comments (Wellhead Protection)Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District
100 Grange Place, Room 202, Cortland, NY 13045
Phone: (607) 756-5991 Fax: (607) 756-0029
www.cortlandswcd.org
MCD to promote the conservation told wise use of our county's natural resources
January 18, 2022
Thomas Williams, Supervisor
Town of Cortlandville
3577 Terrace Road
Cortland, NY 13045
Re: Wellhead Protection Proposed Local Law
Dear Mr. Williams:
The Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) appreciates the opportunity
to comment on the proposed Cortlandville Wellhead Protection law.
The Cortland County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has long been supportive
of measures to protect the quality of the Cortland aquifer. This proposed law provides important
local control over the protection of the Otter -Dry Creek Sole Source Aquifer (Aquifer) and the
drinking water supplies of Cortlandville and Cortland. Degradation of the aquifer would be
detrimental to the citizens, industries and farms dependent on this resource.
Mines are industrial activities that use various contaminants including petroleum product storage
and dispensing, hydraulic fluid in mining equipment, wastewater from vehicle and equipment
washing, and chemical compounds used to reduce dust on entrance drives. The difference in risk
between a surface mine and a mine permitted below the water table is significant. A separation
distance between the mine floor and the seasonal high water table provides a necessary
protective buffer as various physical, chemical and biological processes can act to reduce
contamination as it percolates downward through the ground to the water table below. The
absence of any buffer to the Aquifer provides a potential direct pathway for contamination to
reach the Aquifer. Without significant separation between mining and groundwater, these
activities present a material risk to the Aquifer and therefore the public water supplies dependent
on the Aquifer.
In addition, the large open waterbodies created by mining below the water table have the
potential to introduce pathogens not normally present in groundwater, such as waste from
waterfowl gathered on these ponds. Some of these pathogens can survive longer than three
months in groundwater. Expensive filtration requirements would likely be needed to protect
drinking water supplies in the event that these groundwater resources become "under the
influence" of a surface water body. These filtration systems are typically extremely expensive.
For these reasons, the Cortland County SWCD therefore fully supports the modifications to the
Wellhead Protection Local Law proposed by the Town of Cortlandville. We believe this action
is a prudent protective measure that is in the best interest of the Town and its residents.
Sincerely,
Eugene Wright
Board Chairman
Cc: Amanda Barber, Cortland SWCD