Governor Andrew M. Cuomo visited Hoosick Falls, NY on Sunday and announced that a new filtration system in the town has successfully eliminated PFOA from the municipal water supply.
Cuomo announced that "The PFOA is out of the water,"at a command center set up in Hoosick Falls by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Despite this claim, state officials are still warning village residents not to use tap water for drinking or cooking until a complete flush of the Hoosick Falls water system is done.
Cuomo also discussed several permanent solutions that are being considered, which include using water from the Hoosic River, increasing the capacity of a village well that has lower levels of PFOA, or using a reservoir about 12 miles away for Hoosick Falls water supply.
He also cautioned that the state's residents should anticipate the discovery of PFOA and other chemicals in the drinking water of other locations. "We're going to continue to find situations like this all throughout the state, all throughout the country," he said. He noted that past methods of disposing of toxic chemicals were not always effective. "Now, in many ways, we're paying the price as a society."
Water tainted with PFOA has also been found in the nearby areas of Vermont and New Hampshire.
The state hopes to have the new system delivering clean tap water by next week.
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