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The water system is owned by NY City not state and they have been working for years to finish a 3rd water tunnel so they can meet their needs and shut down the old tunnel for repairs. Do you really think they are going to be willing to extend the line into Long Island? I don't think so...
I guess you are right, but it's very surprising that home of multi million dollar properties, possibly value of homes in Long Island combined would exceed value of properties in rest of NY State, yet we keep hearing about how soil, drinking water and beaches are badly polluted over and over.
I guess they assume rich people can bathe and cook with bottled water? Pools should be OK since they are heavily medicated/chlorinated anyway.
Regarding testing, is it really that difficult to just have normal people get theirs tested? Even home depot sells test kits.
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Originally Posted by tailgunner_ed
I guess you are right, but it's very surprising that home of multi million dollar properties, possibly value of homes in Long Island combined would exceed value of properties in rest of NY State, yet we keep hearing about how soil, drinking water and beaches are badly polluted over and over.
I guess they assume rich people can bathe and cook with bottled water? Pools should be OK since they are heavily medicated/chlorinated anyway.
Regarding testing, is it really that difficult to just have normal people get theirs tested? Even home depot sells test kits.
I don't think anyone is assuming anything about rich people. First the home market is way over inflated for the value you are getting but that is a personal choice that people have made. With the exception of older residents who moved in during the post WWII what new resident has stopped and said "I wonder if the water quality is good" or "how severe is the pollution here". Did you stop and question the ecologic quality of where you live?
Regarding testing, is it really that difficult to just have normal people get theirs tested? Even home depot sells test kits.
The difference between the DIY test kits and a laboratory analysis is the degree to which the testing procedure is able to go. Also, the DIY kits are sometimes just not as accurate in their results. Here's a recent comparison of several DIY tests versus lab testing of the same water supply:
For those disinclined to read links, the takeaways were:
None of the tests detected nitrate or nitrite, but the professional lab did.
None of the pH tests matched the professional reading.
None of the hardness tests matched the professional reading.
The two that tested fluoride detected none, but the professional lab did.
The four that tested iron detected none, but the professional lab did.
The bacteria test results were all correct.
A big limitation on the DIY test kits is how they test for bacteria, because they only test for coliform bacteria like E. coli which is easy to detect. They can't test for other bacteria (such as Legionella) or for parasites (Giardia) or protozoans like Cryptosporidum, and those can make a person just as sick (or more, in the case of Legionella) as the coliforms can.
The cheaper DIY tests typically only look for the two of the three most common lawn chemicals, known as the triazines (atrazine, simazine and propazine.) So to find any of the other widely used chemicals (for example 2,4,D or glyphosate a/k/a RoundUp) in the water supply, you'd need to get one of the $200-$300 kits and for that money you might as well just have a local independent testing lab do it.
Just ban lawn chemicals already.
Outlaw that crap. Us locals laugh at all the cidiots blowing tons of money on lawn care because they think they need it. All you need is water and a little labor.
The reality is that if you're getting your water from one of the better providers (like SCWA) who already are testing and monitoring, it's a complete waste of time and money to bother with any of the DIY kits; they won't find anything that the water provider hasn't already detected and hopefully addressed. The test results cited in the Newsday article weren't the product of any OTC water test kit, that's for sure. The DIY kits aren't going to reveal any smoking guns of contamination, and isn't that what most people worry about?
On the other hand, if you're getting your water from a well on your own property, then IMHO you should be using a DIY test monthly to catch any sudden egregious changes, PLUS paying for an in-depth lab analysis at least once a year. Because you never know when something at your well's depth (which is not nearly as deep as the municipal water companies' wells are) might change for the worse.
If someone is that worried about what might be in their tap water, they should get a good filter or filtration system instead. And be willing to maintain it properly, because an incorrectly maintained filter can easily become more of a health hazard than the water that goes into it.
My drinking and cooking water goes through a Doulton stainless steel countertop Ultracarb filter that removes 99.99% of seven types of bacterial pathogens, 96% of chlorine, 85%-95% of several different herbicides and 97.6% of lead. Not that I think there are any herbicides or lead in my SCWA water anyhow, but it's good to have a backup from the filter just in case. The filter cartridge costs $35 each and based on my home's usage it gets replaced every 2 to 3 years but I also clean it manually every 30 days. Cleaning takes 10 minutes or less to do.
I won’t drink the water out here. But I do shower in it and eat foods that have been cooked in it.
IMO these plumes are no joke. For years tons and tons of chemicals were dumped out here.
its moving a foot a day, people are scared, renters can just move, how ever home owners are now going to be stuck trying to sell their houses when its on a plume thats moving a foot a day. they say 11 water supplies have been contaminated and 16 will be soon....and it will take 110 years for it to be fixed
by that time, your entire blood line could be wiped out because of a military plume gave them all cancer, all because you wanted to buy a house on long island.
yes, today your house might not be in the plume, but what about tomorrow, next week, next month? this stuff is going on your skin your largest organ and then into your blood stream... the rice you just ate is poisoned because it was made in long island tap water, the restaurant you ate from uses long island tap water, so now your healthy meal is really a toxic one.
Hundreds packed Bethpage High School to hear an ambitious state plan to contain and treat groundwater pollution from a toxic plume that has affected 11 public water supply wells and threatens another 16 as it moves a foot per day.
“This is a big night in this community. This is the next giant leap forward in a problem some of you have been dealing with for decades,” said Martin Brand, deputy commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation.
He called the groundwater pollution well, which is now more than four miles long, “a legacy of industrial contamination in this community,” referring to the Bethpage manufacturing site once used by the Navy and Northrop Grumman.
Many residents came in hopeful about the state’s commitment, but wary after years of promises to address the plume, only to see it continuing to spread.
Before the formal hearing, he pointed to his house on a map of the plume, highlighted in pink. “This is where I am. I’m in the middle of it,” he said.
Lenny Tricarico, 72 of Massapequa, said he’s watched the edge of the plume spread, now south of the Southern State Parkway, nearer to where he lives.
“I’m not too happy about it, but it’s just a fact,” he said, noting that his wife, like many others in the community, drink bottled water, despite assurances by water providers that the water meets all state and federal drinking water standards.
Grumman stopped loving Bethpage a long time ago,” he said.
Brand said good science would bring them to the table, but state law requires them to ask the polluters to pay for the plan before taking further action.
The plume contains 24 contaminants, including TCE, a human carcinogen that is toxic to the immune system and reproduction, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and the emerging contaminant 1,4-dioxane, a likely carcinogen, according to the EPA, that water providers are struggling to treat.
The state's study found the plume has spread 4.3 miles south toward the Southern State Parkway, was 2.1 miles wide at its widest point and up to 900 feet deep.
The Navy and Grumman set up manufacturing, research and testing facilities on a more than 600-acre plot in Bethpage beginning in the late 1930s. The facility was home to the Apollo moon lander and turned out Hellcat, Tigercat, Albatross and other planes during World War II and the Korean War.
It could take 110 years to fully remove the contaminants from groundwater, according to state documents.
its moving a foot a day, people are scared, renters can just move, how ever home owners are now going to be stuck trying to sell their houses when its on a plume thats moving a foot a day. they say 11 water supplies have been contaminated and 16 will be soon....and it will take 110 years for it to be fixed
by that time, your entire blood line could be wiped out because of a military plume gave them all cancer, all because you wanted to buy a house on long island.
yes, today your house might not be in the plume, but what about tomorrow, next week, next month? this stuff is going on your skin your largest organ and then into your blood stream... the rice you just ate is poisoned because it was made in long island tap water, the restaurant you ate from uses long island tap water, so now your healthy meal is really a toxic one.
Hundreds packed Bethpage High School to hear an ambitious state plan to contain and treat groundwater pollution from a toxic plume that has affected 11 public water supply wells and threatens another 16 as it moves a foot per day.
“This is a big night in this community. This is the next giant leap forward in a problem some of you have been dealing with for decades,” said Martin Brand, deputy commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation.
He called the groundwater pollution well, which is now more than four miles long, “a legacy of industrial contamination in this community,” referring to the Bethpage manufacturing site once used by the Navy and Northrop Grumman.
Many residents came in hopeful about the state’s commitment, but wary after years of promises to address the plume, only to see it continuing to spread.
Before the formal hearing, he pointed to his house on a map of the plume, highlighted in pink. “This is where I am. I’m in the middle of it,” he said.
Lenny Tricarico, 72 of Massapequa, said he’s watched the edge of the plume spread, now south of the Southern State Parkway, nearer to where he lives.
“I’m not too happy about it, but it’s just a fact,” he said, noting that his wife, like many others in the community, drink bottled water, despite assurances by water providers that the water meets all state and federal drinking water standards.
Grumman stopped loving Bethpage a long time ago,” he said.
Brand said good science would bring them to the table, but state law requires them to ask the polluters to pay for the plan before taking further action.
The plume contains 24 contaminants, including TCE, a human carcinogen that is toxic to the immune system and reproduction, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and the emerging contaminant 1,4-dioxane, a likely carcinogen, according to the EPA, that water providers are struggling to treat.
The state's study found the plume has spread 4.3 miles south toward the Southern State Parkway, was 2.1 miles wide at its widest point and up to 900 feet deep.
The Navy and Grumman set up manufacturing, research and testing facilities on a more than 600-acre plot in Bethpage beginning in the late 1930s. The facility was home to the Apollo moon lander and turned out Hellcat, Tigercat, Albatross and other planes during World War II and the Korean War.
It could take 110 years to fully remove the contaminants from groundwater, according to state documents.
Which public water suppliers are distributing water from the area of the plumes you cite?
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