State proposes water plans
Hoosick Falls looking at 5 long-term solutions to well contamination
The state Department of Environmental Conservation this week released its final report on alternate drinking water supplies for the village of Hoosick Falls, which five years ago learned its underground wells had been contaminated with a toxic manufacturing chemical.
The five recommendations include keeping the same filtration system, tapping into underground aquifers on farm sites just south of the village, or pumping water more than 12 miles from either the Tomhannock Reservoir in Pittstown or the city of Troy.
“I would agree that the community is at the point now where there’s some frustration that it’s taking a lot of time, but at the same time this is the future water source for the next 100 years,” Mayor Rob Allen said. “I know it has been an exceptionally long ride; I’m finishing up my fourth year as mayor in March.”
Allen, a high school music teacher, ran for mayor five years ago in the wake of revelations that village officials and state health agencies had downplayed the significance of the discovery of the toxic chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, in the village’s drinking water.
Village residents on the mu
nicipal supply system have since been relying on a carbon-treatment system to clean their water of PFOA. Residents with private wells also received filters for their water systems. But the Pfoa-laden water — even though it’s filtered — has left many residents unsettled and hopeful for a permanent water supply that may not need to have toxic chemicals removed before it reaches their faucets.
Still, if the final plan is to pump water from the Tomhannock Reservoir, or from the city of Troy, the water would still need to be treated at the village plant because of the distance it would travel.
Allen said the DEC study closely examined concerns that underground aquifers about a mile south of the village might eventually pull PFOA from the contaminated village wells, which are near the manufacturing plants blamed for the pollution.
The search for an alternate water supply in Hoosick Falls began in February 2016 under the direction of the DEC. The state’s action came about 16 months after a village resident, Michael Hickey, alerted local government officials that PFOA had contaminated the public water supply. PFOA is a known carcinogen that was used to make non-stick and heat-resistant coatings.
Saint- Gobain operated a plant on Mccaffrey Street in Hoosick Falls since the 1990s that has been a focus of the contamination because it is near the village’s water treatment plant. Honeywell International is also involved in the cleanup efforts because its predecessor corporation, Allied Signal, operated the facility from 1986 to 1996, one of five companies that operated the plant since 1956.
Saint- Gobain and Honeywell have signed consent orders with the state involving multiple contaminated sites in and around Hoosick Falls where PFOA or other chemicals have been detected in soil and groundwater.
The next step is that DEC will make a recommendation for the village’s long-term water supply — a recommendation that will be subject to a public comment before a final decision is made.
Allen said that he has not made a decision on what he believes would be the best solution for the village.
“I have not had a lot of time to go through the latest (information) and I do want to hear from my experts before I make a decision,” he said. “I will be very clear and direct when I have that decision.”