New Federal Ban on Forever Chemicals in Nation's Drinking Water to Bring Improvements to Rockland's Drinking Water

 by M.C. Millman 

On Wednesday, April 10, the federal government announced the first national drinking water limit on the toxic "forever chemicals" in public water systems, including Rockland's drinking water supply. 

Forever chemicals have long been a problem in Rockland County. Veolia Water was given a notice of Rockland's tainted water in December of 2022, as reported by Rockland Daily here. The dangers of forever chemicals, in general, have long been known, as reported by Rockland Daily here and linked to liver cancer, as reported by Rockland Daily here. According to a  2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, more than forty-five percent of the United States's water systems contain one or more types of PFAS chemicals.

"Veolia supports the EPA's new PFAS drinking water regulations and has been moving aggressively to meet the challenge" of protecting public health and the environment by treating regulated PFAS compounds in drinking water," Bill Madden, Veolia's director of New York communications and government affairs stated when the new ruling came out on Wednesday. 

According to Madden, PFAS treatment is already being done for the water supplies of ten percent of the entire population Veolia serves in New York after the company installed new treatment systems at seventeen sites in 2020. Since then, regulated PFAS has not been detected in the water at those seventeen locations.

Veolia reports that treatment systems for another 100,000 New Yorkers are in the works, and the company plans to continue installing new PFAS treatment systems when required by new regulations and updated water quality measurements.

The new system is estimated to cost about $1.5 billion annually across the United States. Reduced exposure to harmful PFAS in drinking water will prevent nearly 10,000 deaths over decades while reducing illnesses.