BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — It's the water you use to wash your hands, bathe your children and drink with dinner, water that New York State wants to hold to a higher standard.
"We are doing everything possible to ensure that your drinking water is safe," said Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett.
That includes getting rid of PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, chemicals that can come from everyday products like food packaging, furniture or pesticides that can get into our water over time.
What are PFAS and how dangerous are they?
"Many of these PFAS chemicals have been linked to harmful health effects like thyroid disease and kidney cancer and a number of other illnesses," said Rob Hayes, Director of Clean Air for Environmental Advocates NY.
Let's say you have a filter in your fridge, those chemicals can still make their way through. There are special filters you can buy for about $45, but environmental advocates want New York State to do that work for you.
"We need New York State to step up and be the first state to say, we're going to respond to the science and we're gonna do everything we can to make sure that people have clean water coming out of their tap," said Hayes.
What's being done to protect you?
There are already rules in place to protect you, introduced back in 2020. This proposal would expand those, lowering the maximum level of contamination allowed in water.
"New York has been leading the way on emerging contaminants and today's announcement represents another important milestone," said Dr. Bassett.
Hayes says it's not enough.
"We need these drinking water standards to drop to as close to zero as possible, we need to make sure that whenever these toxic chemicals are detected in somebody's drinking water, that there are requirements to remove them from the water," said Hayes.
How have PFAS affected communities in WNY?
We saw how PFAS affected the Village of Mayville in 2020, when Chautauqua County health officials directed people to use bottled water after finding PFAS in local wells. The village is now suing the county over the contamination.
What's next?
The proposed rules require testing, reporting and letting the public know if they're found, but Hayes says the proposal is weaker than standards in Massachusetts, Maine, and Michigan.
"We need Governor Hochul to step in and say we need to strengthen this proposal if we want to protect public health, because right now the state department of health is falling short," said Hayes.
This proposal is open to public comment until December 5, you can read the document here. The Department will then review submitted comments and propose a final rule for the Public Health and Health Planning Council to consider.
