Mid Hudson Times Aug. 30 2017 | Page 3

3 Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, August 30, 2017 Clean Water Project demands DoD take action on PFOS Continued from page 1 Recreation Pond,” said Brown, writing the sentence down with a black sharpie on a white sheet of paper. “We need a filtration system at Recreation Pond.” The pond – found with 84 times the advisory level set by the EPA last year for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in drinking water – is the main entry point of PFOS flowing into the city’s drinking watershed from the air base. The Catskill Aqueduct The discussion addressed the impending shutdown of the Catskill Aqueduct, the city’s current source of drinking water. The city was forced to switch to using aqueduct water following the discovery of PFOS at Washington Lake in the spring last year. The lake serves as the city’s primary drinking-water reservoir. Recreation Pond must be remediated before the city switches back to Washington Lake water, Brown insisted. “We’re not going back on (lake) water until this has taken place,” she said. The pond’s PFOS-tainted water flows directly into Silver Stream, which flowed into the lake through diversion gates under the intersection of routes 207 and 300. (The temporary closure of the Catskill Aqueduct has been pushed back to early 2018, city Water Superintendent Wayne Vradenburgh confirmed on Monday. The closure was previously scheduled to take place in October. Vradenburgh said a new filtration system designed to remove PFOS and other contaminants from water flowing through the city water filtration plant would be up and running before the new closure date.) Sampling by the state Department of Environmental Conservation last year revealed PFOS contamination throughout the watershed. The source of the contamination was quickly determined to be the air base, where PFOS-laden fire foam had been used for years in drills and fires. The DoD has yet to take responsibility for the contamination, nor has it announced plans for remediation at the base or within the watershed. The federal agency stated it would carry out its own investigation of contamination at the base over the summer, but has yet to disclose results. Threats throughout watershed The problem extends way beyond the air base, said Quassaick Creek Watershed member Peter Smith, citing potential Newburgh Clean Water Project members say dense development along Route 300 and areas surrounding Washington Lake threatens the city’s drinking water. threats from runoff, road spills, new construction, capped landfills and low- lying areas of Route 300, a stone’s throw away from the lake. “Part of the problem we face is that our drinking watershed is outside the city’s boundaries,” said Smith. “Lake Washington is in both the Town of New Windsor and the Town of Newburgh,” he said. “These towns have no obligation in their planning and zoning to accommodate the City of Newburgh,” thanks to the state’s “home-rule” law, Smith said. Dense development within the watershed comes within feet of streams and tributaries feeding Washington Lake, Smith said, noting a bevy of big-box stores and distribution centers in the area. The New York State Thruway 87 also runs directly through the watershed, Smith pointed out, and so would the Pilgrim Pipeline, if approved and constructed. “There are endless vulnerabilities to contaminants and emergencies,” Smith said. A PowerPoint presentation mapped out the details of the watershed: Washington Lake was at the center; Patton Brook was seen north of the lake and Silver Stream was visible to the south. Though it eventually makes its way into the lake, the upper Patton Brook is not listed as “source drinking water” by the state Department of Health, Smith said. The slideshow revealed that west of the Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit to discharge into Silver Stream, which was, until recently, categorized as a non-drinking water source by the DEC. This detail may have contributed significantly to the PFOS contamination that took place at the lake, Newburgh City Manager Michael Ciaravino said at City Hall in July. “If it had been properly designated as a Class-A stream, some of the discharge practices may not have been allowed to occur,” he charged. Smith outlined several specific actions to be taken by the state in order to safeguard the watershed: accurate identification of watershed source waters such as Silver Stream, requiring developers consider the “safety of the public’s drinking water” for project approvals, and forming a state- level authority to regulate land use in municipal watersheds. City Councilwoman Karen Mejia urged residents to stay vigilant and continue to pressure lawmakers and state and federal agencies to take action. “We have to, collectively, not lose steam,” Mejia said. lake, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was issued a State Pollution MARK YOUR CALENDAR … TWICE Learn more about the diagnosis and treatment of arthritis in the hip, knee and shoulder, including dietary supplements, medications, exercise, injections and surgery. THURSDAY, AUgUST 24 6:30 p.M. THURSDAY, AUgUST 31 6:30 p.M. Homewood Suites 180 Breunig Road New Windsor, NY 12553 Dr. John McLaughlin Howland Public Library 313 Main Street Beacon, NY 12508 Dr. Wasik Ashraf Register online at http://bit.ly/dealingarthritis or call (845) 784-3849 Register online at http://bit.ly/arthritisbounceback or call (845) 784-3849 www .STLUKESCORNwALLHOSPITAL. ORg SLCH_August_Ortho_Education_MHT_3col_Quarter.indd 1 8/3/2017 2:23:02 PM