Water Quality
Advisory for Private Well Owners
The
Suffolk County Department of Health Services announced today that it is
expanding a private well survey in the area described below in order to assess
the quality of the drinking water supplied by those private wells.
PFOS
and PFOA have been detected above the USEPA Health Advisory Level (70 ppt) in
some drinking water supplies that have been sampled in the area. USEPA’s Health Advisory Levels are
established to protect even the most sensitive populations, including fetuses
during pregnancy and breastfed babies, against potential adverse health effects
from exposure to contaminants in drinking water. A public water supply well
located on Church Street in Bohemia had detections of PFOS above the health
advisory. However, the water from this
well was being treated already and sampling demonstrated that the treated water
being distributed to customers did not have detections of PFOS. PFOS and PFOA have been detected above the
health advisory level in two private wells that were sampled by the Suffolk
County Department of Health Services (SCDHS).
The
NYSDEC will oversee the investigation of potential source(s) of PFOS
(perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), contaminants
that are associated with aqueous film forming foam used for firefighting
purposes and rapidly work to remediate those sources once identified.
PFOS
and PFOA are part of a class of chemicals known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substances). PFAS have been used in a number of
industrial and commercial products such as firefighting foam, as well as
coatings that repel water, oil, stains and grease. Thus, people may be
exposed to PFOS and PFOA through air, water, or soil from industrial sources
and from consumer products.
The SCDHS would like
to sample all private wells in this area at no charge to homeowners. Residents
whose property is served by a private well and is located in the area bounded
on the north by Peconic Street and the Long Island Railroad, on the west by Louis
Kossuth Avenue, Sycamore Avenue and Pond Road, on the east by Lincoln Avenue,
Veterans Memorial Highway and San Souci Lakes and south to the Great South Bay
are advised to contact the SCDHS Office of Water Resources at 631-852-5810 to
have their wells tested (see attached map). The laboratory analysis for PFAS
will be conducted by a private laboratory contracted by the DEC.
The
New York State Department of Health has indicated that consumption (drinking or
cooking) is the primary exposure concern for PFAS in drinking water.
Bathing and showering are not expected to be a concern even if PFAS are present
in the water supply. Out of an abundance of caution, the NYSDEC is providing bottled
water to property owners in the private well survey area described above,
pending private well testing results. If
you use a private well for drinking or cooking purposes and live in the survey
area, supplies of free bottled water will be available for pick up at the
Bohemia Recreation Center, 1 Ruzicka Way, Bohemia 11716, daily from 7:30 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
Homes
connected to a public water supply do not need to have their water tested as
the public water supplied to the area does not exceed the USEPA Health Advisory
Level and these supplies are routinely tested.
Residents
with general questions about health effects of PFAS are advised to call the New
York State Department of Health at 518-402-7950 Monday through Friday: 8 a.m. -
4 p.m.
Residents
who are unsure if they are served by public water may call the Suffolk County
Water Authority at 631-698-9500.
Residents
with private wells who have questions about private well water in Suffolk
County or who wish to have their wells tested may contact the SCDHS Office of
Water Resources at 631-852-5810.
For
additional information about PFAS, please visit the SCDHS website at: www.suffolkcountyny.gov/health/pfcwaterinfo.
For
more information on perfluorinated compounds, see USEPA Fact Sheet:
PFOA & PFOS Drinking Water Health Advisories.
Private Well Survey Area.pdf
Follow us
suffolkcountyny.gov
Facebook.com/SuffolkCountyHealthServices
Twitter.com/SuffolkCoHealth