The advisory not to drink municipal water in the village of New Paltz, town water districts and at SUNY New Paltz has been lifted, and continued flushing of the system and additional testing turned up “no detectable levels of petroleum,” according to a release from the governor’s office.
Residents are being asked to “flush their plumbing to remove old water” by turning on sources of water in their homes and letting them run for varying lengths of time. Details here.
Residents were asked to notify the village if they have any concerns or notice anything unusual going forward.
The advisory was instituted Monday following reports from some residents of a chemical taste and odor. Later, a village employee noticed a sheen on the surface of one of the village’s reservoirs. The problem was traced to a leaking underground heating fuel line. That line was replaced and that reservoir was bypassed. Remediation included soaking up petroleum from the surface of the reservoir and flushing out the system. Initial testing yesterday reportedly turned up no detectable levels of petroleum, and after further testing confirmed results, the advisory was lifted.
We are still seeking additional information about the duration and concentration of petroleum levels in village water prior to remediation. Stay tuned.
Read previous coverage with more details on the response and remediation here.
I find the level of information in this mess really disappointing. It feels like the water tanks and other things were a distraction and the lack of transparency makes me nervous. I am perplexed why during the entire debacle we were never told the plan, the gating, and the data points which would allow the plan to move through those gates. Where was the communications coordinator with this kind of information for us residents?
I honestly don’t care what Gov Ego has to say; I want to see facts when my life and health are in potential jeopardy. If I have the facts I can make a decision on my health and safety. Rember when the government told us the air around Ground Zero was safe? How’d that turn out?
I also wish the local press would be more skeptical: as in where is a link to the test results for me to review.