Suffolk's drinking water and poverty on LI
Suffolk County Water Authority meets or surpasses all drinking water quality regulations, the authority's chief executive officer writes. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Be assured drinking water on LI is fine
The story on PFAS chemicals in Long Island’s drinking water offered an inaccurate portrayal of the levels of these chemicals and may have undermined public confidence in their drinking water supply [“Call for tighter standard,” News, Dec. 7].
While the Suffolk County Water Authority shares Citizens Campaign for the Environment’s concern about emerging contaminants — as evidenced by our internal standards for water quality that are more protective than federal and state regulations — it is important that numbers are not misrepresented.
There are not, as stated by the group’s executive director, “alarming amounts of PFAS chemicals in our everyday drinking water supplies,” as purportedly exemplified by a chart CCE provided. The chart referencing SCWA points to the highest individual results of hundreds of tests taken, at different times and locations, within a distribution area from Amityville to the Westhampton area.
Combining those high readings from multiple tests into a single number and saying it is nearly five times the level that would be allowed under new state regulations governing these chemicals is preposterous. The truth is, the levels of these chemicals are, on average, non-detectible, when test results are evaluated scientifically.
We all need to be focused on the presence of PFAS chemicals in drinking water and taking the appropriate actions, based on science. SCWA has spent millions of dollars to remove these compounds. But alarming the public unnecessarily with inaccurate information makes it far more difficult to conduct the serious work that needs to be undertaken to establish reasonable drinking water regulations.
Residents can view SCWA water quality tests at our website. SCWA meets or surpasses all drinking water quality regulations.
— Jeffrey Szabo, Babylon
The writer is chief executive officer of the Suffolk County Water Authority.
Poverty on LI for some, but not all
There’s a certain irony to the juxtaposition of the two side headlines on Newsday’s Dec. 22 front page.
One references “Poverty on LI” and right under it: “Mets’ $315M stunner” regarding the signing of All-Star Carlos Correa to a 12-year contract.
— Tom Turner, Ozone Park
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