About 80 local residents came out to attend a community meeting, jointly-hosted by SCWA, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Suffolk County Legislator Tom Cilmi, Suffolk County Legislator William Lindsay III, the Town of Islip and NYS Senator Phil Boyle at the Connetquot Public Library in Bohemia, February 5.
Following media reports regarding the potential designation of MacArthur Airport as a New York State Superfund site, SCWA wanted to assure residents that there was filtration in place to address the contaminant of concern to the state , and that their water meets all federal and state standards.
The state action is being considered because the airport has in the past used and stored a firefighting foam that contains perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). Though there is currently no federal or state drinking water standard for PFOS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2016 established a health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion for the compound, as studies have shown that exposure to PFOS over certain levels may cause various health issues.
The Authority uses Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) treatment to remove PFOS from drinking water before the water is distributed to customers.
We take great pride in the fact that our internal standards for water quality are more rigorous than state and federal regulations require, and that we voluntarily test for nearly 250 more chemicals—including PFOS—than required by law. If you have questions about you local water quality, please feel free to contact us at Info@SCWA.com.