Croton Aqueduct System and borders the Croton River, it does not tap into the reservoir system for its water. Instead its water supply comes directly from sand and gravel aquifers pumped from three deep wells under the Croton River Basin. Well water provides a very pure source of water because it requires only a minimum amount of treatment and avoids the potential problems with pollution run-off that are associated with surface water from the reservoir system. The Village’s three active wells are located on Route 129 (a fourth well is inactive). The wells can produce up to 1.8 – 2 million gallons of water per day; the average daily water consumption is 1 million gallons per day. The automation of the well pumping system was completed in 2001. Water pumped from the wells is stored in a network of four reservoir tanks located throughout the Village; two tanks in the Mount Airy area, one on Hessian Hills Road and the fourth on the Hudson National Golf Course. The four tanks can hold a total of 2.3 million gallons of water. By tank, the capacity is as follows: PAGE 59 CROTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 1. Upper North Highland: 2. North Highland underground: 3. Hessian Hill Road: 4. Hudson National Golf Course: 1,250,000 400,000 500,000 150,000 2,300,000 gallons The installation of this fourth reservoir tank at the golf course in the early 1990s, coupled with a water main extension completed in early 2001, connected neighborhoods in the northern part of the Village – Scenic Ridge, Westwind, and Arrowcrest – to the Village water system. These areas had previously been served by the Town of Cortlandt’s system. The sloped topography of the Village makes regulation of water pressure very important. The Village has invested in new pressure reducing valves to improve regulation of water pressure, allowing water to be moved quickly from the upper to the lower end of the Village in the event of a fire or other high demand on the water system. Although the current three-well system serves the Village adequately, if a well were to be taken out of service, the supply to the Village would be significantly reduced. As such, the Water Department has requested funds to install a fourth well, to ensure adequate supply of water if one of three wells is out of service. Sewer System. The Village utilizes a sanitary sewer system in the most densely populated areas of the Village, and septic system systems in the less dense areas. Most of the Village’s sanitary sewer system was installed during the 1920s and 1930s, connecting already constructed houses to the sewer system. Subdivisions constructed more recently by private developers also have sewer connections, as the Village required private developers to install sanitary sewers. However, houses developed after the 1930s by individual residents in the outlying areas of the Village on single lots were often not connected to the system. These homes are served by private septic systems. Most of the Village’s sewer lines are between 70 and 80 years old and are beginning to show signs of age. Some lines are cracking and need to be re-lined or replaced. The Village invested $100,000 in 2000 to rehabilitate several manholes and sewer lines and has focused efforts on sections of the lines that have problems. A proactive effort to reline the sewer lines before the conditions worsen could help preempt further problems. PAGE 60 CROTON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 3.8 Special Planning Areas: Commercial Districts and Hudson River Waterfront a. Commercial Districts Due to its historical development as the separate communities of Mt. Airy and Harmon, and the nature of its transportation systems, Croton-on-Hudson has a patchwork of several distinct commercial retail and office areas: the Upper Village, North Riverside, the Municipal Place shopping centers (including the auto dealership, Post Office area, Croton Commons and Van Wyck II shopping plaza), and the South Riverside/Harmon shopping area, which developed around the railroad stop at Harmon (see Figure 3.8). North Riverside was located close to the original Croton North train station, and the Upper Village at the crossroads of Grand Street and Old Post Road. With the exception of the Upper Village, all of these commercial centers are located along the Route 9/9A corridor. The North End area is the entryway into the Village from the north along both Routes 9 and 9A. North Riverside is linked via Brook Street to the Upper Village. The Municipal Place shopping area is bisected by Maple Street, which runs north to the Upper Village. The Harmon/South Riverside/Harmon shopping area is located at the approach to the train station from Croton Point Avenue, with access to the nearby Harmon residential area. The customer base for each of these commercial centers is local, drawing shoppers from within the Village rather than from the Northern Westchester region.