The Suffolk County Water Authority through a substantial investment in new granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment systems has treatment in place throughout its service territory to meet or surpass a new state regulation on perfluorinated compounds. The new state regulations on PFOS/PFOA as well as 1,4-dioxane went into effect last summer, but, like many other water suppliers on Long Island, SCWA received a two-year deferral to install new treatment systems in order to comply with the tough new standards.
SCWA—which has been at the forefront of testing and developing treatment for emerging contaminants for years—has treatment in place to remove the perfluorinated compounds PFOS and PFOA virtually everywhere at which detections have been found above the new state maximum contaminant level of 10 parts per trillion, one of the most protective standards for the compounds in the country.
“This achievement demonstrates the Suffolk County Water Authority’s commitment to providing drinking water that meets or surpasses even the most stringent water quality standards,” said SCWA Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Szabo. “It is the result of proactive planning, of getting in front of this issue early on.”
SCWA has invested nearly $13 million since 2016 to add 29 GAC treatment systems at 32 wells. 15 of the systems are brand new, while the other 14 were either offline or relocated from one site to another as needed. GAC, which is used to remove a wide variety of contaminants, effectively removes PFOS and PFOA from groundwater.
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.