FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2021

Private Well Lookup Tool Created

Check if your Well is Near Where PFOA/PFOS Have Been Detected

New City, NY, - Rockland County Executive Ed Day, Commissioner of Health Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert and County Legislator Harriet Cornell announce a new web app to determine whether a resident’s private well is within ¼ mile of a point where Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and/or Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have been detected.

New York State recently enacted a new regulation defining Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA and PFOS in public water systems of 10 parts per trillion for each compound. Rockland’s Public Water Systems have already started the process of testing for these compounds, and where necessary, notifying customers and designing treatment systems to achieve compliance with the new standards.

“In addition to general notifications that these compounds have been found in Rockland’s well water, we felt it was important for you to know if they have been found in well water close to your well. Testing for PFOA or PFOS by private well owners is not required under the new regulation and neither is any specific treatment action. However, private well owners should have as much information as possible so they can make informed decisions on what actions to take,” said County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert.

Prior to adoption of the new state standards, PFOA and PFOS were unregulated in New York. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Health Advisory Level of 70 parts per trillion for the two compounds combined is non-enforceable, established in 2016 as a guideline to be protective over a lifetime of exposure. The new Maximum Contaminant Levels, 10 parts per trillion for each compound, are based upon the most recent scientific studies and were set by New York State to accomplish two goals: 1) to establish an enforceable standard for Public Water Systems and 2) to provide a larger margin of protection against potential health effects.

“This new regulation does not apply to private wells, but we wanted to be sure private well owners are aware of the potential for their wells to be affected by these compounds,” said County Executive Ed Day. “The only way to know for sure if PFOA or PFOS is present in your private well is to have your water tested. Special thanks to the Department of Health and Department of Planning for working together to create this web app.”

To date, testing in Rockland County has identified a number of wells with concentrations that exceed the new standards, though still well below the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Health Advisory Level. The affected public water systems are being required to take steps to achieve compliance. However, no specific sources of contamination have been identified in Rockland and there are no obvious potential sources, as have been identified elsewhere in the state.

Initial testing shows relatively low-level detections scattered around the county. We will continue to evaluate all new results and will report any results exceeding 10 parts per trillion to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, but initial results may point to a widespread baseline of contamination, potentially a consequence of decades of use in consumer products such as non-stick cookware, stain- and water-resistant fabrics, food containers, fire-fighting foams, pesticides, etc.

“There have been recent public meetings on these new regulations and compounds, and we understand that residents may have concerns. We want to provide the tools and information necessary for people to make intelligent decisions about their well water and this new web app created by the Health and Planning Departments will be an incredible help,” said Legislator Harriet Cornell.

As Chair of Rockland’s Water Task Force, Legislator Cornell is planning a virtual public forum during the spring, with scientists from the New York State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation who were instrumental in creating the new state standard for this group of chemicals.

If you get your water from a private well, and NOT from a Public Water Supply, for example like the Village of Nyack or Suffern, or Suez Water NY, you can determine whether your well is within ¼ mile of a point where PFOA or PFOS has been detected by going to the following website: https://www.rocklandgis.com/WebApps/PFOA/index.html

Simply follow the link and enter your parcel ID number, which can be found on your town tax bill. It is important to remember that whether your property is within or outside the ¼-mile zone does not guarantee your well will, or will not, contain PFOA or PFOS. Our hope is that residents who test their well will share the data with our Department of Health, by e-mailing them to PWTLaw@co.rockland.ny.us  or faxing them to 845-364-2025, so that we can continue to expand the area as warranted. Individual well test results will not be shared publicly, only used to define the ¼-mile zones.

The following link will take you to a Department of Health website that contains additional information about PFOA and PFOS, including information about laboratories that can perform these analyses: https://rocklandgov.com/departments/health/environmental-health/water-supply/pfoapfos-information/

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