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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, November 9, 2016
PFOS and PFOA found in Beaver Dam Lake
Continued from page 1
wells in the Beaver Dam Lake area on
Nov. 7, giving priority to homes with
shallow wells along the lake shoreline.
The lake itself is used recreationally and
not for drinking water.
Lab results revealed concentrations of
41 parts per trillion for PFOS and 11 parts
per trillion for PFOA in the lake. Both are
below the EPA’s health advisory level of
70 parts per trillion.
“However, higher concentrations of
PFOS, ranging from 70 to 89 parts per
trillion were found at various points
along the main tributary of the lake,” the
letter stated.
Rossini wrote, “the source of the
contamination has been determined to
be an area in the western part of Stewart
Airport, where firefighting foam was
used to extinguish a major aircraft fire
in 1996.”
“PFOS and PFOA levels in a pond near
this area were found to be 140 and 19.1
parts per trillion, respectively. This area
is separate and distinct from the (Stewart
Air National Guard Base) and does not
appear to be the same source as the
Washington Lake contamination.”
Tests have revealed the source of
the PFOS contamination of the City
of Newburgh water supply to be a
retention pond at the air base, located in
a southeastern area of the airport close
to Washington Lake, which serves as the
city’s main drinking-water source.
The city switched to using Catskill
Aqueduct water after PFOS levels of up
to 243 parts per trillion were found at
the lake in the spring. The New York
State Department of Health has since
implemented a region-wide blood testing
program, offering area residents free
testing for PFOS and PFOA.
The DEC is expected to collect additional
water samples from Beaver Dam Lake in
the coming week. Sample locations will
include the lake, the main tributary and
the Beaver Dam Lake watershed area
at Stewart International Airport. Lab
results are anticipated within two weeks.
About 800 homes in the Beaver
Dam Lake community depend on the
underground aquifer and wells for their
water supply. Lab results show PFOS
and PFOA were not located in three wells
owned by the Beaver Dam Lake Water
Corporation.
The Beaver Dam Lake Protection and
Rehabilitation District was formed in
1987 by the Orange County Legislature
to protect, rehabilitate and maintain the
lake. It is administered by the county
Department of Public Works.
Tests show the presence of PFOS and PFOA in Beaver Dam Lake.
Municipal water solution
Tests now show the presence of PFOS
throughout area water bodies, including
Silver Stream, believed to be the conduit
for PFOS in Washington Lake.
Greg Gaetano’s well was tested in
September. Gaetano’s property is located
near the lake on Little Britain Road, in an
area of New Windsor that is not connected
to the town’s municipal-water supply.
The well tested with a PFOS level of
57 parts per trillion, just below the EPA
advisory level, though not by much.
“They offered me a filtration system,”
said Gaetano, referring to the state. “I was
most appreciative.”
He was talking about the point-ofentry-treatment systems, known as POET
systems. The DEC has been offering
these home, carbon-filtration systems to
property owners with wells containing
significant levels of PFOS and other
chemicals, including PFOA.
Gaetano, whose home is located about
200 feet from Washington Lake, said he
won’t have the filtration system installed.
“That would be like putting a Band-Aid
on a deep-cut wound,” he asserted. “ I
don’t want a temporary fix. We’re looking
for the state to help us get municipal
water. We need a long-term solution.”
New Windsor Town Supervisor George
Green said a municipal-water main
is likely within a few hundred feet of
Gaetano’s well and others in an area
along Little Britain and Steele roads. “It’s
very close,” Green said.
“The permanent and long-term
solution to this situation is the provision
of municipal water to the affected
properties,” Green wrote to the DEC’s
Martin Brand in October. “The Town of
New Windsor has municipal water in
close proximity and it could be brought to
each individual property expeditiously.”
Green said he has yet to receive a
response from the DEC. In the meantime,
Gaetano said he is using bottled water for
drinking.
At a meeting at Town Hall last week,
New Windsor resident Kelly Allegra
asked how the town plans to protect
three new wells being built along the
Moodna Creek. “They have been tested
constantly,” Green responded. “There is
no PFOS in the wells.”
New Windsor Chief Water Plant
Operator John Egitto said the new wells
are subject to extensive testing as part of
the DEC’s permitting process. If all goes
well, he said, the wells will be online by
the end of 2017.
“We are working with Beaver Dam Lake
District Board to get current and accurate
information to provide to residents,”
county spokesman Justin Rodriguez said
when asked about upcoming information
Monday.
Rossini said the DEC and DOH have
expressed “a willingness to hold a local,
informational meeting so residents
can be provided with a more thorough
understanding” of the water situation.
A meeting will be scheduled after test
results are available, he said.
To learn more about testing at Beaver
Dam Lake, visit Orangecountygov.com
and type “Beaver Dam Lake District”
in the search window on the homepage
– scroll down and click on the link for
“PFOA/PFOS information.”
Water quality information