New York State
Hoosick Water Hotline:
1-800-801-8092

Contact Senator Gillibrand

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

On Friday, July 8, 2016 Senator Gillibrand attended a roundtable discussion in Hoosick Falls to hear residents concerns about the PFOA contamination. Her office has developed an online form for people to submit questions, and share their experiences and concerns with the senator.


NYSDOH Health Study

Information on biomonitoring can be found on the Health Monitoring page.


Alternate Water

The Bottled Water Program ended August 31, 2017

Overview

This site has been developed in an ongoing effort to keep the community informed on the situation with the discovery of the unregulated contaminant Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in the municipal water system. Much information has been shared by various means since first discovery in August of 2014. This site is designed to be a clearinghouse for all information shared up to this point, links to other resources, and other relevant information. It will be updated as the Village continues to addresses this important issue.

The 2022 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report can be downloaded here.
Previous WQRs include: 2021 - 2020 - 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014.

Water Website Updates: Latest Update February 14, 2018 (click to view/close)

02/14/2018—Posted recent testing information to Testing page

01/31/2018—Posted Lab Reports November 02, 2017Lab Reports December 07, 2017Lab Reports January 04, 2018 to Testing page

10/26/2017—Added Lab Reports October 05, 2017 to Testing page

10/19/2017—Added Lab Reports for September 07, 2017 to Testing Page.

9/18/2017—Added annual water quality report to Overview page.

9/2/2017—Added mayor's ststement on ending of the Bottled Water Program to News page. Added PFOA Community Health Questionnaire to Health page.

8/8/2017—Added Lab Reports June 1, 2017, Lab Reports June 9, 2017, Lab Reports August 3, 2017 to Testing page.

7/31/2017—Added EPA McCaffery St. site NPL Superfund designation to News page.

7/24/2017—Added DEC Catch and Release Advisory to News page

7/22/2017—Added Liberty Street Superfund Designation, and John Street Superfund Designation notifications from DEC to Documents page.

6/19/2017—Updated Community Informational Meeting Regarding PFOA Updates item on News page.

6/7/2017—Added Community Informational Meeting Regarding PFOA Updates item to News page.

5/12/2017—Added press release to News page.

4/18/2017—Added Letter from Mayor to EPA Administrator Pruitt regarding the Federal Superfund Site to Documents Page.

4/09/2017—Added March milestones to Timeline page.

3/14/2017—Added February milestones to Timeline page.

3/10/2017—Added Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for Dec. 22, 2016 through Feb. 23, 2017Lab Reports Dec. 22, 29, 2016Lab Reports Jan. 5, 10, 2017Lab Reports Jan. 19, 26, 2017Lab Reports Feb. 2, 14, 23, 2017 to Testing Page.

2/8/2017—Added Honeywell John Street investigation update and associated documents to News page and Testing page.

2/8/2017—Added NYS press release on full-capacity GAC system approval to News page

1/24/2017—Added HOFA Agreement Q&A Document to the Village website homepage.

1/20/2017—Added Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for Dec. 15, 2016Lab Reports to Testing page.

1/9/2017—Added Saint-Gobain/Honeywell Agreement to News page

1/9/2017—Updated the Timeline page with December 2016 milestones.

1/3/2017—Added New York State Senate Report on Water Quality and Contamination to Documents page

1/3/2017—Added municipal water testing results for Nov. 17, 28, and Dec. 1, 8 to Testing page.

12/16/2016—Added press release to News page.

12/12/2016—Updated Timeline with November 2016 milestones.

11/28/2016—Added November 23, 2016—NYSDEC Hoosick/Petersburgh regional groundwater and sediment testing results to Testing page.

11/17/2016—Added testing results for Oct. 20, and Nov. 3, 2016 to Testing page.

11/14/2016—Updated Timeline page with October milestones.

11/1/2016—Added PFOA water testing results for Septemer 22 and October 6 samplings to Testing page

10/28/2016—Added updated Department of Health Armory hours to Health page.

10/14/2016—Added Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for Sept. 8, 2016 and Lab Reports to the Testing page. Added information on the public hearing for NPL inclusion comment session to Events page and VHF Home page.

10/13/2016—Added September 2016 events to Timeline page.

10/5/2016—Added NYS DOH Additional Biomonitoring Dates Announcement to News Page.

9/26/2016—Added US EPA Update #5 Re: soil sampling to News page.

9/21/2016—Added NYSDEC Fish Sampling proposal to News Page.

9/20/2016—Added Letter from Senator Gillibrand to CDC requesting Health Assessment to Documents page.

9/12/16—Added August 2016 events to Timeline page. Added EPA Superfund information to News page.

9/8/16—Posted the second Water Quality Contamination Hearing item on the News page

9/6/16—Added Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for August 11, 2016Lab Reports and Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for August 25, 2016Lab Reports to Testing page.

9/1/16—Added First of NYS Hearings on Drinking Water Contamination Held in Hoosick Falls item to News page.

8/31/16—Added information on the C-8 Medical Monitoring Program to the Health page Important!

8/31/16—Added NYSDEC Designation of Hoosick Falls Landfill as Potential Hazardous Waste Disposal Site (P-site) to Documents page.

8/20/2016—Added NYS Senate correspondence topic to Documents page. Added Notice of Public Hearing on Water Quality and Contamination, and Request for Village Mayor's testimony at August 30th public hearing

8/10/2016—Added August 9, 2016—Town Pool PFC testing results (prior to refilling), and August 3, 2016—NYSDOH updated map of testing results to Testing page.

8/8/2016—Added Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for July 28, 2016 — and Lab Reports to Testing page.

8/5/2016—Added Hoosick Biomonitoring Updates section to Health page and posted PFOA Biomonitoring Preliminary Group-Level Results, February-April 2016 Blood Sampling Data Sheet, Blood Level Comaprisons—Hoosick vs. Other Effected Community Results, and PFOA Biomonitoring Q & A in the topic.

8/4/2016—Updated the Timeline page with July's milestone events.

8/3/2016—Added Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for June 16, 2016Lab Reports, Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for July 6, 2016Lab Reports, and Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results for July 14, 2016Lab Reports to Testing page.

8/1/2016—Added August 1, 2016 Letter to residents from Village to Documents page.

7/29/2016—Added NYS DEC/DOH PFOA Updates Informational Session printable flier to Events page.

7/26/2016—Added July 22, 2016 Letter from Senator Shumer to EPA re: NPL for Hoosick Falls to Documents page.

7/24/2016—Added July 22 DEC Soil/Surface Water Testing to Testing Page.

7/17/2016—Added July 18, 2016—Honeywell Hoosick Falls Environmental Investigation Summary to Documents page.

7/15/2016—Added Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in Drinking Water—Prepared by the Canadian Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committe on Drinking Water to Resources page.

7/13/2016—Added Minnesota Department of Health; Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) and Health to Health page.

7/13/2016—Added Senator Kirsten Gillibrand comment form link to Overview page.

7/11/2016—Added June milestones to Timeline page, and updated FAQ on Overview page.

7/8/2016—Added Mt. Sinai PFOA Exposure Information Sessions to Health and Events pages.

7/6/2016—Added June 24, 2016—NYSDOH updated map of testing results to Testing page.

7/5/2016—Added June 23, 2016 Letter to residents to documents page.

6/29/2016—Added June 24, 2016—Letter from NYS Senators to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Documents page.

6/28/2016—Added NYD DOH additional blood sampling dates and information for July 2016 for Hoosick residents and for Petersburgh residents to the Health page.

6/24/2016—Added April 2016 Letter from Congressman Chris Gibson to NYSDOH and NYSDOH's June 2016 Response Letter to Documents page.

6/21/2016—Added June 20, 2016—Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results and Lab Reports to Testing page.

6/11/2016—Added EPA's Draft Health Effects Documents for PFOA (Peer Reviewed 2014) to Health page.

6/8/2016—Added June 08, 2016—Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results and Lab Reports to Testing page.

6/3/2016—Updated Timeline page with May 2016 milestones.

5/25/2016—Added May 25, 2016—Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results and Lab Reports to the Testing page.

5/23/2016—Added the 2015 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report to the overview page.

5/19/2016—Added EPA PFOA, PFOS Fact Sheet; long term levels. to Documents page.

5/19/2016—Added May 18, 2016—NYSDOH updated map of testing results to Testing page.

5/16/2016—Added May 13, 2016—Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results and Lab Reports to Testing page.

5/10/2016—Added NYS DOH, DEC Pools and Hot Tubs FAQ to Documents page.

5/5/2016—Added EPA press release on Sampling Program to the News page.

5/3/2016—Added May 3, 2016—NYSDOH updated map of testing results to Testing page.

5/2/2016—Timeline page updated with April milestones

4/27/2016—Added March 30, 2016 Lab Reports 01 & Lab Reports 02 and April 12, 2016 Lab Report to the Testing page

4/21/2016—Updated FAQ on Overview page

4/15/2016—Added April letter to municipal water users to Documents page.

4/12/2016—Added April 12, 2016 Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results to Testing page.

4/12/2016—Added April 6, 2016—NYSDOH updated map of testing results to Testing Page.

4/7/2016—Added NYSDOH approval of full-capacity GAC system plans for HFMWP to Documents page.

4/7/2016—Added EPA respons to Mayor Borge's February 2016 letter to Documents page.

4/4/2016—Added EPA/DEC soil testing results and maps to Testing page.

4/1/2016—Updated Timeline page with March 2016 events.

3/31/2016—Updated text on Overview page.

3/30/2016—Added NYSDOH press release on lifting the municipal water ban to News page.

3/30/2016—Added March 30, 2016 Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results to Testing and Documents pages.

3/28/2016—Updated FAQ on Overview page with additional Q&As.

3/24/2016—Added NYSDOH press release on testing results to News page.

3/23/2016—Added March 20, 2016—NYSDOH updated map of testing results to Testing page.

3/15/2016—Added NYSDOH updated map of private well testing results to Testing page.

3/14/2016—Updated the overview text on the Overview page.

3/14/2016—Added Governor Cuomo's March 13 Press Release to News page and Documents page.

3/14/2016—Added NYSDOH ongoing testing summary. to Testing page

3/11/2016—Added Letter from NY, VT, & NH Governors to the EPA to Documents page

3/10/2016—Added Swimming pool and Hot tub reporting form to Overview page.

3/9/2016—Added Letter from DEC Commissioner to Mayor re: Order on Consent to Documents Page.

3/9/2016—Added Letter from Saint-Gobain to DEC re: Committment to Documents Page.

3/9/2016—Added Water Update to news page.

3/9/2016—Added Celebrate Recovery—Water Crisis Group information to Health page.

3/4/2016—Added NYSDEC Press release on test results to News page.

3/4/2016—Updated the Timeline page with the February 2016 actions.

3/4/2016— Added February 26, 2016 Letter to the Village re: municipal water testing results to Documents page.

3/2/2016—Added Water Flushing Update to News page

2/29/2016—Added NYSDOH well testing information to News page and Testing page.

2/26/2016—Added Door hangers with general information about the flushing program and flushing instructions. to Documents page.

2/26/2016—Added NYSDOH Testing and Flushing Information Press Release to Documents page.

2/26/2016—Updated informational content and FAQ's on the Overview page.

2/26/2016—Added NYSDOH Water System Flushing Plan Approval letter to the Documents page.

2/26/2016—Added press release on water system flushing to News page.

2/25/2016—Added DEC Press Release re: GAC Filtering and Municipal Water System Flushing to documents page.

2/25/2016—Added Mailer to all residents re: water system flushing to Documents page.

2/25/2016—Added Village press releases on filtration and flushing to News page.

2/22/2016—Added EPA soil testing press release to News page.

2/17/2016—Added Health Monitoring page.

2/16/2016—Added NYS DEC press release re: Registry Site Designation to the News page.

2/13/2016—Added NYS Governor's press release to the News page.

2/12/2016—Added EPA press release on soil testing to the News page.

2/12/2016—Added A critical review of perfluorooctanoate and perfluorooctanesulfonate exposure and cancer risk in humans to Resources page

2/12/2016—Added Drinking water Standards and the Health Effects of Drinking Contaminated Water to Testing page

2/11/2016—Added Letter from NYSDEC to Saint-Gobain and Honneywell to Documents page.

2/11/2016—Added NYS DEC press release to News page .

2/5/2016—Letter from Mayor Borge to EPA, DOH, DEC, re: Superfund Questions added to Documents page.

2/4/2016—Added Status of State and Federal Superfund Investigations to Documents page.

2/3/2016—Added NYSDOH weekly Village schedule to Overview page.

2/2/2016—Calgon GAC Pilot Test with Hoosick Falls Water Results added to Testing page.

2/2/2016—NYSDOH private well testing results (second round) posted to Testing page.

2/1/2016—News page updated with latest news.

2/1/2016—Latest letter to residents added to Documents page.

2/1/2016—Timeline page updated with January 2016 milestones.

1/31/2016—Toxic FAQ's for PFOA, PFOS and Toxicological Profile for PFOA, PFOS references add to Resources page.

1/28/2016—Updated intro text on Overview page.

1/28/2016—Letter from EPA posted to Documents page.

1/27/2016—Recommendations on Perflourinated Compound Treatment Options for Drinking Water added to resources page.

1/27/2016—Governors Superfund Action Plan Announcement added to Documents page.

1/26/2016—Updated PFOA Discovery Map, and NYS DOH Map added to Testing page.

In 2014, the Village collected samples of water from the municipal water supply which identified the presence of elevated levels of PFOA. The data was provided to state and federal agencies. Village officials initiated a comprehensive effort to identify a treatment technology that could reduce PFOA in the water and locate a clean, safe water alternative for residents until an effective treatment system could be obtained. As these efforts were being pursued, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a recommendation that Village residents not use the water for drinking and cooking.

A temporary Granular Activated Carbon filtration unit was installed at the water treatment plant in February and has been shown to effectively reduce PFOA in the municipal water supply to safe levels. On March 30, 2016, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) lifted the "no-drink" advisory and determined Village residents "may use the water for any and all uses, including drinking or cooking." This determination was based on several rounds of water samples collected at the water treatment plant and throughout the distribution system. The results indicate non-detectable levels of PFOA since March 13, 2016.

Free bottled water continues to be available to residents at Tops Market. Local police and volunteers from the Hoosick Area Church Association (HACA) are delivering water to those who are unable to obtain bottled water at Tops Market. If you are in need of assistance, please contact the Village Clerk’s Office at 518-686-7072 and arrangements will be made.

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International have been identified as potentially responsible for the PFOA contamination in the municipal water supply. New York State finalized an agreement with the companies whereby they will perform a comprehensive investigation into the PFOA contamination at their facilities in Hoosick Falls. The agreement solidifies several commitments Saint-Gobain already made to the Village, including paying for the installation and maintenance of temporary and Full Capacity carbon treatment systems at the water treatment plant, free bottled water for residents, and property-specific water treatment systems installed at local businesses and adult care facilities.

FAQ:

Click on the question to see the reply.

Will New York State install a carbon filtration system at my home if my home is connected to the municipal water supply?

When visiting the Village on March 13, Governor Cuomo informed a resident that individual carbon filtration systems are not needed at homes connected to the municipal water supply. A temporary filtration system at the municipal water treatment system has been installed and is being tested by NYSDOH. Preliminary results indicate the system is effectively reducing PFOA to safe levels. EPA's recommendation that residents refrain from using municipal water for drinking or cooking remains in effect until NYSDOH's testing of the new filtration system is completed.

Do I need to clean my hot water tank?

NYSDOH recommends that residents flush their hot water system by turning on all indoor hot water faucets (including every sink, shower, and bathtub) and running the hot water for 15 minutes. This will replace the water in the hot water tank with filtered water. NYSDOH has determined that residents do not need to take any additional steps because of PFOA. All hot water tanks do require periodic draining and cleaning per manufacturer recommendations. NYSDOH recommends that residents follow manufacturer instructions when draining and cleaning a hot water tank.

Where has PFOA been detected?

Water collected by the Village from four municipal supply wells has been found to contain PFOA at levels ranging from 150-540 parts per trillion. Saint-Gobain collected samples of groundwater from its McCaffrey Street property and found levels as high as 18,000 parts per trillion. Groundwater from the McCaffrey Street property is not plumbed to the municipal supply wells. The New York State Department of Health collected water samples from private wells in the area and several have been found to contain PFOA at levels above 100 parts per trillion. Sample results are posted on the Testing page.

What level of PFOA in water is acceptable?

EPA has established a lifetime health advisory for PFOA at 70 parts per trillion. EPA says this level “offers a margin of protection for all Americans throughout their life from adverse health effects resulting from exposure to PFOA and PFOS in drinking water.”

Why wasn’t the Village sampling the municipal water supply for PFOA before 2014?

Prior to January 27, 2016, New York State did not require municipal water supply operators to test their water supplies for the presence of PFOA.

Can I be added to the Village’s mailing list so I can get future correspondence on this issue?

Yes. Contact the Village clerk at 518-686-7072 or by email, and your name will be added to the Village mailing list.

Does the state’s classification of the Saint-Gobain McCaffrey Street plant preclude EPA from listing the property to the federal National Priorities List?

No, the state's classification does not preclude EPA from listing the Saint-Gobain property, or any other properties, to the federal National Priorities List. EPA is gathering data and other information so that it will be able to evaluate the Saint-Gobain McCaffrey Street facility, and potential releases from the facility, for possible inclusion on the NPL. The public will have the opportunity to comment on any NPL proposal, which will include the results of EPA's sampling activities.

How long has the Village known about PFOA in water?

We learned that PFOA might be present in the municipal water supply in 2014. See a detailed timeline of events.

I’ve been drinking the municipal water supply for years and am now concerned about my health. What should I do?

NYSDOH representatives are available each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 2:00pm to 8:00pm, and on Saturdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm, at the HAYC3 Armory at 80 Church Street. No appointments are necessary. Information on NYSDOH’s health studies can be found at the NYSDOH Hoosick page.

I use a private well for my household water. Can I still use that water?

EPA recommends that residents with private wells at which PFOA has been found to be present at a level greater than 70 parts per trillion not use that water for drinking or cooking, and instead take advantage of the free bottled water program available at Tops Market. EPA also recommends that people who have wells that have not yet been tested ask NYSDOH to test their well and, in the meantime, take advantage of the bottled water available at Tops Market.