Haz Mat Team Responds to Chlorine Leak at Port Chester Water Source

A chlorine leak in the Rye Lake water pumping station was reported at about 7:30 Tuesday morning.

The pumping station is operated by the Westchester Joint Water Works, a cross-town water utility that delivers some of its water to Port Chester.

The small leak took about two hours to fix, but no one was injured and the water supply was not affected, according to a spokesperson from the Westchester County Health Department.

The leak was caused by a bad gasket in a connection pipe between a chlorine tank and the main water supply. An alarm inside the room alerted the Westchester Joint Water Works, which operates the pumping station. Employees at the water works then reported the leak to authorities.

"That is why they keep these compressed gas cylinders in a special sealed room," said Caren Halbfinger, a spokesperson from the health department. "When there is a leak within that room there is a sensor in that room that connects to an alarm that is outside so no one was ever exposed to the chlorine gas."

Responders from a hazardous materials team entered the room in air-tight suits to identify the leak. Workers closed off the leak and sent the chlorine through a vent system out of the building, said Halbfinger, adding that the building was secure and everything was back to normal by 9:30 a.m.

"Everything worked the way it was supposed to," Halbfinger said.

The water works supplies water to the Town/Village of Harrison, Village of Mamaroneck and Town of Mamaroneck as well as parts of Rye and New Rochelle. 

The Rye Lake pumping station is located at 900 Lake Street and is on the shore of Lake Rye, a few feet from Interstate 684. Lake Rye is connected to the Kensico Reservoir water system, which holds more than 30 billion gallons of water at full capacity.

About half of the water from the Rye pumping station supplies Harrison and West Harrison while the other half is sold to United Water and used in Rye Brook, Rye and Port Chester. Service was never interrupted in any area as a result of the leak, according to Westchester Joint Water Works Manager Anthony Conetta.

The West Harrison Fire Department and employees of the Westchester Joint Water Works were also among about 40 total people who responded to the scene.

"Everything is fine and running normal," said Conetta. "That is the way we want to end it."