DONATIONS POURING IN
Monolith Solar launches GoFundMe campaign for Hoosick Falls water users
RENSSLEAER>> A local company that has worked in the past with the village of Hoosick Falls has launched an online campaign to help the village address recent water safety issues.
Monolith Solar not only created a GoFundMe campaign late last week with the goal of raising $1 million to help the village deal with contamination of its drinking water supply, but the company also made the first donation, $21,000.
Over the weekend, that donation was joined by 26 others to bring the total pledged to nearly $22,000. Donations can be made online at www.gofundme.com/hfwatersafety.
“Our heart goes out to all these residents that have to live through this,” said Tim Carr, Monolith’s solar account manager. “The goal for us is that any family living in Hoosick Falls doesn’t have to worry about giving their kids a drink of water.”
The EPA recommended in December that village water not be used for cooking or drinking because of the presence of perfluorooctanoic acid in the public supply. The federal agency also recommended that private well owners have their water tested for contamination. Samples from the village water system, which serves about 4,900 people, had PFOA levels that exceeded the EPA’s provisional health advisory of 400 parts per trillion in each liter of water. Some studies have linked PFOA to certain types of cancer, and the EPA is considering regulating it under the federal
Safe Drinking Water Act.
“Our goal is that the launch of this GoFundMe campaign will allow new resources to become available to any and all residents who have been impacted by this unfortunate situation,” Steve Erby, Monolith’s vice president, said in statement posted on the GoFundMe page.
Monolith Solar and Hoosick Falls have had a positive working relationship over the years, according to Carr.
“Hoosick Falls has always been a big supporter of Monolith,” Carr said. “The village got behind us from the beginning. As a company, we really wouldn’t be where we are today without that support from Hoosick Falls, so doing this is really the least that we can do to help them out.”
Officials are unsure how PFOA got into the water supply. Testing at the Saint-Gobain Performance Plas--
tics site on McCaffrey Street found PFOA levels up to 45 times greater than the EPA’s recommendation, but company officials maintain they don’t know their facility is the source of the chemical in the water system. The company is, however, funding a program to provide free bottled water to water system users through the local Tops supermarket and has said it would pay for the installation of a filter at the water treatment plant that would remove the chemical, a project estimated to cost about $2.2 million.
“We want to help this community get back to normal, and this issue needs to be addressed now,” Carr said.
Money raised through the GoFundMe campaign will go toward assisting village residents with well testing, plumbing upgrades and other legitimate means to both identify and remedy unsafe water. The company also plans to donate some of the money its makes over the next five years from its Hoosick Falls solar projects to the fund.
“We’re going to do everything that we can so the village knows that we stand behind them and that we’re here for the long haul with them,” Carr said.
Village residents who wish to have their well tested can email testmywater@monolithsolar.com.