NEWBURGH – It has been one year since the City of Newburgh shut off its water supply at Washington Lake because of chemical contamination and began the rapid journey to switch over to the New York City Catskill Aqueduct while the state pays for a new filtration system.
Next week the federal government will honor the city with a “Champion” award because of its environmental consciousness, said City Manager Michael Ciaravino.
“On May 19th, on behalf of our city, we will proudly be going down to receive that award from the EPA office in Manhattan,” he said. “Considering where we have been in the past year, it is an exciting time for us to have been nominated and then to have received that award.”
The chemical, PFOS, has been traced back to the New York Air National Guard Base at nearby Stewart Airport, but the feds have yet to step up to the plate and pledge to pay for remediation.
