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Peekskill official outlines watershed protections, monitoring and land acquisition
Summary
New watershed inspector Joseph Scapoli told the council the city's watershed serves 25,000 residents and is monitored at multiple source points; staff highlighted recent land acquisition with the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, outreach and concern about rising sodium and road-salt impacts.
The council heard a technical presentation on Sept. 15 from Joseph Scapoli, the city's watershed inspector, who reviewed the city's source-water protection program, monitoring network, contaminants of concern and recent land-acquisition work.
"This watershed is a drinking water source for over 25,000 residents of Peekskill," Scapoli said, describing a roughly 30,000-acre drainage area that funnels to Hollowbrook Dam. He told the council the city's 2023 drinking-water source protection plan established monitoring locations and a plan-management team that meets bimonthly to track priorities such as source-water monitoring, intermunicipal coordination and public outreach.
Scapoli noted modern concerns including turbidity, algal growth, microplastics and PFAS, and he flagged that city reservoirs retain relatively little road-salt runoff because few roads drain directly into them. He also described an 80-acre land acquisition carried out with the Hudson Highlands Land Trust that expanded protected land near city reservoirs and highlighted a youth tree-planting event that placed more than 100 trees and shrubs at the Hollowbrook Dam.
On sodium in treated water: City staff said the annual water statement shows elevated sodium levels but that the county health department has not called those levels a public-health trigger. "There are elevated levels of sodium in the water," Dave Rambo said, adding that sodium is dissolved and would require specialized treatment such as electrolysis to remove. The council asked for continued monitoring and outreach to upstream municipalities about best practices such as brining roads rather than broadcasting rock salt.
Why it matters: The watershed supplies Peekskill's drinking water and backups for neighboring communities; city officials said monitoring and intermunicipal cooperation are critical to preserving water quality as development and road salt remain long-term pressures.
Next steps: Staff will continue monitoring and bring data and outreach materials back to the council; the council also invited future student presentations tied to local research projects.
