New Report On Drinking Water Contaminants Highlights Need For Strong EPA: Cornell

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — A new study by the Environmental Working Group of drinking water systems across New York and the country highlights the importance of clean water, says Harriet Cornell, Chair of the Rockland County Legislature’s Environmental Committee and the Chair of the Rockland County Task Force on Water Resources Management.

In conjunction with outside scientists, EWG assessed health-based guidelines for hundreds of chemicals found in drinking water across the country and compared them to the legal limits. EWG officials said the law often permits utilities to allow these dangerous chemicals to pollute our waters.

“While I have not yet had an opportunity to review the new report or any peer reviews, it goes without saying that safe drinking water is more precious than jewels," Cornell said in an email to Patch. "I am deeply concerned about the possibility that the legal threshold for some chemicals in our drinking water might be higher than the health threshold."

County officials and water advocates have kept a close eye on water quality for years, she said. For example, she has held public informational meetings on drinking water issues with scientists from Columbia University, and officials from both the NY State and Rockland County Departments of Health.

She pointed out that several years ago the focus was on arsenic found in drinking water. Then last year, the level of trihalomethane exceeded a federal drinking water quality standard in some communities. Suez Water New York, which provides drinking water to most homes and businesses in Rockland County, exceeded the standard at two testing locations in Haverstraw, with the treated water coming from the Lake Deforest reservoir in Clarkstown. The Nyack village water system also had a trihalomethane issue.

Each time, she noted, officials provided the public with information about drinking water regulations, including the frequency of testing and how results get reported.

What everyone learned was that trihalomethane, a byproduct of disinfecting water, is found in all public water systems that use chlorine as a disinfectant. Chlorine helps to prevent risks of bacterial infection and disease, according to the county Health Department. When the byproduct exceeded the standard, both water utilities took steps to reduce the level.

“It makes sense to update the acceptable limits of harmful chemicals and contaminants as more is learned, and certainly we know that new chemical derivatives and contaminants have surfaced in the water supply over the past few decades," she said. “We have seen this when water is poisoned by dry cleaning chemicals; when pipe corrosion causes lead to enter drinking water, such as in Flint, Michigan; and when chemicals used as grease repellents for carpets and food packing enter the water supply, as happened in upstate Newburgh last year.

“Those are large-scale events, but we should be equally concerned about the possibility of a slow and long – and probably unknown - exposure to potentially harmful levels of chemicals and contaminants in our water supplies,” Cornell said. “Even more, we should act to address the issue by ensuring we are taking steps to limit exposure. So when President Trump called upon the EPA to review its regulatory requirements in order to reduce burdens on business entities, this is a potential blow to public safety.”

SEE ALSO:

• 10 Cancer-Causing Pollutants Found In New York Drinking Water, Study Shows
  
• Rockland Drinking Water Violates Standards
• Nyack Alert: Drinking Water Violates Standards