Newburgh still can’t use its primary water supply, Washington Lake
NEWBURGH – The state Department of Environmental Conservation declared the Stewart Air National Guard Base as a state superfund site and as such identified the US Department of Defense as a potentially responsible party for the PFOS contamination of the City of Newburgh’s water supply at Washington Lake.
The state’s preliminary studies have identified portions of the Stewart base as a significant source of the contamination of the water supply with some of the highest concentrations of PFOS – nearly 5,900 parts per billion – found in an outfall from the Air National Guard base that drains into Silver Stream, a preliminary tributary of Washington Lake.
Preliminary data suggest the contamination is the result of the historic use of firefighting foam at the Stewart Guard base. That foam contains PFOS used at the base for emergency response and training exercises. The Department of Defense will fully determine the nature and extent of foam use and disposal on the base.
While the State DEC is the lead agency in the identification and remediation issue, federal Environmental Protection Agency Regional Director Judith Enck said her organization supports Newburgh.
“I think the city deserves a lot of credit for proactively getting out ahead of this issue and shifting the public water supply to a safer source,” Enck said.
Newburgh is currently tapping the New York City Catskill Aqueduct for its water and the state has agreed to pick up the tab up to $11.5 million. Albany will also design and install a new carbon filtration system to remove the PFOS from Washington Lake.
