New York Focus · Shuchi Shah, Hayden Betts, Aurora Martínez and Rebecca McCray · September 8, 2026
Mary Fontana doesn’t trust the water that comes out of the tap in her upstate New York home. Nor do most of her neighbors in Tupper Lake, an Adirondacks village where she is mayor. “When I’m putting my kid in the bathtub at the end of the night, when the tub fills up with rust-colored water, it’s really hard to look at that and not think that you’re doing some kind of harm,” said Fontana, who has pushed the state for help cleaning up her village’s water. Many of Tupper Lake’s roughly 5,000 residents are wary of drinking the village’s water straight from the tap. It is tainted with a toxic disinfectant and has long violated state safety standards, though it’s officially deemed acceptable to use. And Tupper Lake is far from alone. A NYCity News Service and New York Focus analysis of 2024 state Department of Health data, the latest available, found that 79 public water systems across the state have water contaminated with toxins exceeding state limits. These water systems serve more than 575,000 New Yorkers, from wealthy Long Island suburbs to working-class upstate towns, though the state notes that some water recorded as contaminated may not be delivered to customers. In 2020, the health department set maximum acceptable levels for the industrial solvent 1,4-dioxane and PFAS , also known as “forever chemicals.” These toxins joined 10 others listed as drinking water contaminants, including arsenic, radioactive radium and uranium. New York ranks among the states with the highest number of contaminants in its tap water. Many communities are trying to improve the quality of their water, spending millions of dollars to shut contaminated wells, build new treatment facilities, and find cleaner water sources. But these solutions often take longer than allowed to fix the problems. State regulators have granted deferrals that let violations persist as long as public water districts are making progress, records show. And it’s not always clear who should be held accountable for the cleanup. Governor Kathy Hochul launched a five-year $3.75 billion commitment to water infrastructure as part of this year’s budget, bringing total such investments to nearly $10 billion since 2017. “New York is committed to removing health disparities [through] targeted funding for underserved communities so that we may all be afforded the basic right to safe drinking water,” the department said in a statement. Fontana regularly hears about how the problem affects Tupper Lake residents. Many residents have turned to stocking up on bottled water and buying expensive home filtration systems, Fontana said. Some even avoid giving tap water to their pets. “It’s devastating to this community,” she said. “It’s very difficult to go through the day without somebody talking about the water situation in the community, and this has been ongoing for many, many, many years.” NYCity News Service and New York Focus reported on seven communities grappling with contaminated water. Use the interactive map below to read their stories.
Seven systems, seven fights
Tupper Lake Garden City Park Western Nassau Hempstead Harvey School Carmel Fleischmanns
Tupper Lake Garden City Pk. Franklin Sq. W. Nassau Hempstead Harvey School Carmel Fleischmanns
Photo: J. Stephen Conn / Flickr Adirondacks · Franklin County
Tupper Lake
Served About 3,300 people Contaminant HAA5 — disinfectant byproducts In Tupper Lake, the water has elevated levels of chemicals known as HAA5, haloacetic acids that can stem from disinfectants like chlorine and pose a long-term cancer risk, including damage to livers and kidneys. The federal and state limit for HAA5 is 60 micrograms per liter. On average, water in Tupper Lake contained 63.1 in the data studied. At least one test came in far higher, at 184, records show. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the village’s HAA5 levels were 92.8.
Meanwhile, Tupper Lake’s drinking water has violated the federal Safe Drinking Water Act since at least 2014, according to the village’s annual drinking water quality reports.
Tupper Lake residents have long received government-required notices from the village informing them that its water violates federal and state standards. One such notice from October 2025 states that the water is “suitable to drink, cook with, and bathe in,” but suggests additional measures to reduce exposure, including using activated carbon filters, and ventilating the bathroom while showering by opening a window or using an exhaust fan.
During the last two decades, the public water department has overhauled its infrastructure, and work continues.
One simple way of eliminating contaminants like HAA5 is to flush water from the system by letting fire hydrants run onto the street, for instance. This keeps water from becoming stagnant. But if that doesn’t work, alternate solutions can be expensive.
That’s what happened in Tupper Lake, Fontana said. When village officials approached the state government for help, they were urged to rely on groundwater, which the state considers safer, rather than water from Big Tupper Lake and Little Simon Pond.
“The State of New York said you have to find a different source or retrofit your facilities,” Fontana said. “And the only way that they would help fund a new treatment system was for us to go to groundwater wells.”
Since it was too expensive for the village to fix its facilities without outside help, Tupper Lake officials decided to drill two wells, taking on $9 million in debt after also getting state aid. That means 2,800 customers face higher bills.
“Any debt we incur is billed back to those customers,” Fontana explained.
The residents began receiving their water from the wells in 2018.
But then the water got worse.
The well water developed an excessive amount of iron and manganese, making the tap water brown — to the surprise of village officials.
Geological studies, engineering reports, and even the first flow of water did not show a presence of iron, according to Fontana. But the longer the wells were used, the more brown the water became, she said.
While the discoloration is off-putting, it is not a violation of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The EPA provides voluntary guidelines on iron and manganese, noting they may cause cosmetic effects, like discoloring teeth or skin, or affect the taste, look, or odor of water.
The acceptable standard for iron is 0.3 milligrams per liter. Iron levels in Tupper Lake ranged from 1.2 to 2.6, according to its latest drinking water quality report. Large amounts of iron can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and stomach pain, according to the report.
The problems didn’t end there. The two wells could not pump out enough water for the entire town, forcing the town to supplement it with the contaminated water from the filtration plant.
The village plans to drill a third well so it can rely solely on groundwater. Its current filtration system will be replaced with a new $25 million filtration plant, which will treat the water for iron and manganese. The project will likely be done by 2028, according to the mayor.
It will cost an estimated $25 million, but that is still less expensive than the $39 million it would take to fix the current filtration plant, Fontana said.
In February, Fontana took samples of the contaminated water to show lawmakers in Albany. Working with Assemblymember Michael Cashman, she successfully advocated for Tupper Lake, earning a $12.5 million budget line in capital funding for water infrastructure updates. While the funding won’t completely close the village’s budget gap, it’s a crucial win for the community, according to Fontana.
“This funding will help us move forward with the long-term solution to provide a safe, reliable drinking water supply for our residents.”
← Fleischmanns Garden City Park →
Photo: Hayden Betts Long Island · Nassau County
Garden City Park and Franklin Square
Served 38,000 across two districts Contaminant PFOS — forever chemicals A 2019 study from the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a non-profit focusing on tracking water quality in New York State, found that Long Island had “by far” the most contaminated water in the state.
Much of the problem traces to an underground aquifer contaminated over decades by discharge from manufacturing plants.
“Everything we pour on the surface eventually seeps down and contaminates the underground water supply,” said Adrienne Esposito, director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “So it’s really way more vulnerable and susceptible to contamination than many, many, many other areas.”
Water in some parts of Long Island is contaminated by PFAS, chemicals which were once used in everything from nonstick cookware to firefighting foam to food packaging. Now mostly banned in some states, they’re known as “forever chemicals,” because they remain in the environment and in the human body without breaking down. Studies have linked PFAS exposure to increased cancer risk and developmental problems in children.
New York State began systematically tracking PFOS and PFOA, two of the most common PFAS compounds, in 2021. The data revealed problems in parts of Long Island.
The Garden City Park Water District and the Franklin Square Water District — two neighboring systems serving a combined 38,000 people — both had untreated water that exceeded state PFOS limits between 2020 and 2024, according to state health department data.
John Hughes, the superintendent of the Franklin Square Water District, said his district has “never pumped out any water that was over the limit” since at least 2020, when New York instituted a PFOS cap. Franklin Square has had granulated carbon filtration systems on some of its wells since the 1990s, according to Hughes.
While Garden City Park did not respond to requests for comment, its 2022 Water Quality Report indicates that it installed a granulated carbon filtration system the same year that the water it served to customers dipped below the state PFOS limit.
Granulated carbon filters cost between $1 million and $1.5 million per system, Esposito said.
“Most water districts want to be in compliance, but the filtration is expensive,” she said. “The water districts used to get very angry with us [for our activism], but then they realized, you know, we’re the ones lobbying for their grants.”
In 2020, New York established maximum contaminant levels for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-dioxane. As of August 2026, four water districts — all in Nassau County — have been granted “exemptions” by the Department of Health, buying them another year to come into compliance. A spokesperson for the agency told New York Focus that an exemption “does not absolve the water suppliers of their responsibility to mitigate their systems,” and that each exemption includes a “mandatory compliance strategy.”
← Tupper Lake Western Nassau →
Photo: Hayden Betts Long Island · Western Nassau County
Western Nassau County
Served About 120,000 people Contaminant 1,4-dioxane In Western Nassau County, officials overseeing the public water system – which serves about 120,000 people across the towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead along with several villages and unincorporated areas – have taken steps to remove 1,4-dioxane from the water supply. Research in animal models suggests long-term exposure to the industrial solvent in drinking water can cause cancer.
Used as an industrial solvent in chemical manufacturing, 1,4-dioxane was first detected in Long Island’s water supply in 2015. The contaminant can be found in a wide range of products, including some laundry detergents, dish soaps, shampoos and cosmetics. It is also found in some paints, varnishes, degreasers and inks.
Unlike some other contaminants, 1,4-dioxane cannot be filtered out. Instead, cleanup requires more expensive measures — advanced oxidation process (AOP) treatment methods used to break down and remove pollutants.
The state has granted the Water Authority of Western Nassau County deferrals while officials have worked to mitigate contamination.
Michael Leiner, the water authority’s chief engineer, said it has “run out” of deferrals. The authority took the last contaminated water station in its system offline in 2024.
The water authority is removing 1,4-dioxane by running the station’s water through a tank that exposes it to dozens of UV bulbs and hydrogen peroxide, which work in tandem to remove the contaminant.
“The AOP process completely removes it, it doesn’t just reduce it,” Leiner said.
Leiner notes this treatment process is “very expensive,” though he declined to share specific numbers. A 2021 municipal bond statement from the water authority documents “approximately $50 million” in revenue bonds for capital improvements that would address both 1,4-dioxane and PFAS contamination.
Meanwhile, the water authority’s operating expenses rise.
From 2020 to 2024, those expenses jumped 22 percent, according to an annual report from the state’s Authorities Budget Office. Over that same period, the authority’s debt increased by more than 41 percent, though an independent audit in 2024 still found the water authority to be in a “strong” financial position.
The authority may also get some of that money back. More than two dozen Long Island water districts have sued private companies over PFAS contamination, and at least nine, including Western Nassau, have sued over 1,4-dioxane — all seeking to recoup water cleanup costs from companies they say are responsible for contamination.
The Western Nassau water authority filed a lawsuit against the Dow Chemical Company, Ferro Corporation, and Vulcan Materials Company in May 2019, and is seeking to recoup the costs of new treatment facilities, according to its 2021 municipal bond statement.
While some water districts have settled, they can face obstacles gaining access to settlement money. The Water Authority of Western Nassau County declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
Dr. Vasilis Vasiliou, director of the Yale Superfund Research Center, has been studying 1,4-dioxane in Long Island’s water supply for more than six years in collaboration with the Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
Vasiliou said the county has made great progress. “They have done tremendous work in Long Island, and most of the public water is now high quality,” he said.
The Yale Superfund Research Center project focuses primarily on public water supplies because those sources are easier to access and test. But hundreds of thousands of Long Island residents get their water from private wells, many of which are likely contaminated, according to Vasiliou. He hopes to expand the center’s research to those water sources in the future, but property owners are sometimes reluctant to grant access to their wells.
“If you ask to look for contaminants in their area, they might be hesitant,” Vasiliou said, “because if you find something, you may decrease the value of the house.”
← Garden City Park Hempstead →
Photo: Hayden Betts Long Island · Village of Hempstead
Hempstead
Served 56,000 residents Contaminant 1,4-dioxane Seven of the nine wells in Long Island’s Village of Hempstead, population 56,000, contain 1,4-dioxane at levels above the state standards, records show. The village was granted a deferral after the new contaminant standards were introduced, and then an exemption, which expired in August 2026. The water authority applied for an extension in July 2026, but there is no publicly available response from the DOH yet.
Under the terms of the deferral, the village must notify residents of the contamination, submit quarterly progress reports, and take steps to minimize exposure, including relying less on the most contaminated wells and blending their water with cleaner sources.
The village has acknowledged in filings that 1,4-dioxane remains in water delivered to residents and says it needs to build at least one new treatment plant in order to meet state standards.
According to the village’s most recent report, the project will be carried out in five construction phases. New advanced oxidation process (AOP) treatment systems and buildings will be the first to come online, followed by iron removal filters, granular activated carbon filters, new chemical feed systems, and extensive rerouting of water mains.
The first phase is pending approval from the Nassau County Department of Public Works, and Hempstead has no firm timeline publicly set for full treatment.
Mayor Wayland Hobbs directed reporters for this story to water plant director Steve Giardino, who did not respond to interview requests.
Hempstead faces major financial constraints. Documents show village officials authorized $55 million in bonds in 2024 for construction improvements at the Clinton Street Water Treatment Plant, where the AOP systems would be installed. The village has applied for state grants and subsidized financing that could lower its borrowing needs, but the documents don’t specify the final amount.
In the meantime, water utility bills have risen sharply. The highest usage tier reached $13.97 per thousand gallons, among the highest on Long Island, deferral records show. Village engineers said the rate hike is intended to help pay for construction.
The village has also pursued legal action. In August 2025, Hempstead filed a lawsuit against several corporations it alleges are responsible for contaminating its water supply with hazardous chemicals. At least two of the companies named have pushed back: Rococo Associates denied guilt outright and Nassau Chromium Plating Co. Inc. argued that the claims against it are arbitrary.
← Western Nassau Harvey School →
Photo: Jimmy Emerson / Flickr Hudson Valley · Westchester County
Westchester County
Served About 510 people Contaminant 1,4-dioxane, PFOS and PFOA In Westchester County, the Harvey School, a private college preparatory school with an annual tuition of over $50,000, has a public water system that serves about 510 people. The public water system is one of the state’s smallest. It is also the state’s only public water system that has exceeded standards for three different contaminants under the 2020 state regulations.
The data showed that the school’s water system exceeded standards for the dry cleaning contaminant 1,4-dioxane, as well as PFOS and PFOA, two categories of forever chemicals.
The school issued a notice in May 2024 that one of the system’s two wells — the only one showing contamination — has been shut down since June 2021 and will remain offline until a PFAS treatment system is approved and installed.
The notice confirmed the chemical concentrations exceed state standards, but the school said the water was still “acceptable for all uses” and “does not pose a significant short term health risk.”
After years of noncompliance with the Westchester County Health Department, the school reported in February 2026 that it had been granted an extension until January 30, 2027 to complete construction of a treatment system designed to remove PFOA and PFOS.
The Harvey School did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
← Hempstead Carmel →
Photo: Todd Van Hoosier / Flickr Hudson Valley · Putnam County
Putnam County
Served About 33,500 people Contaminant PFOA and PFOS In Carmel, a suburb of about 33,500 people in Putnam County in the Hudson Valley, contamination circulates through septic systems, according to town engineer Richard Franzetti.
Carmel operates 13 separate water districts that are “not hydraulically connected,” Franzetti said, which means contamination cannot be solved with a single fix.
Over the past year, the town has focused on contamination from forever chemicals, particularly PFOA and PFOS. Working with a contractor, Carmel completed a pilot study testing three treatment methods: granular activated carbon (GAC), ion exchange resin and a clay-based material. Two pilot systems ran simultaneously — one for surface water and one for groundwater.
Final findings from the study were expected in April but have been delayed, Franzetti said. Early indications point toward granular activated carbon as the likely solution, he added.
“Ultimately, what’s going to come out of it is probably going to be using the GAC,” he said, “because that’s the most effective way of doing it.”
He acknowledged the anxiety residents feel, especially those with compromised immune systems. But Franzetti also noted that drinking water isn’t the only source of forever chemical exposure.
“The problem with PFOAs is that they’re everywhere,” he said. “If you drink a glass of orange juice, you’re drinking PFOAs. If you floss your teeth, you have PFOAs… If you get fast food anywhere, the packaging has PFOAs in it.”
Carmel’s path forward depends on the pilot study’s final results, future funding, and a broader reckoning with forever chemicals.
“Everybody wants to turn on their tap and have clean water,” Franzetti said. “But there’s no singular answer to it all.”
← Harvey School Fleischmanns →
Photo: Alejandro De La Cruz / Flickr Catskills · Delaware County
Fleischmanns
Served Just over 300 dwellings Contaminant Arsenic In the Catskills village of Fleischmanns, drinking water comes mostly from springs that feed into a storage tower above town. But two of the village’s four wells, which are used as an emergency reserve, have arsenic levels that now exceed the state standard of 10 micrograms per liter, according to the village’s 2025 Annual Water Quality Report.
“They’ve always been right on the limit,” said Todd Murphy, who runs the village’s water and wastewater plant. “They started to go up around the end of 2023, and then through 2024 to current, one of the wells has consistently been over.”
The wells are tested regularly, Murphy said, and residents are notified when arsenic exceeds acceptable levels. But the two contaminated wells are rarely used and fixing them is too costly for a village with just over 300 dwellings.
“To add arsenic removal would be several million dollars,” Murphy said. “For two wells that we don’t really use, it’s just not cost-effective.”
Instead, the village is pursuing state and federal grants to drill two new wells in a different location and then abandon the contaminated ones. The process could take years. In the latest public notice sent to residents, the village said it anticipates “resolving the problem within the next 2-3 years.”
Like many small water systems across New York, Fleischmanns faces an uphill battle, with aging pipes installed in the 1960s and 1970s, a limited tax base, and state funding programs that often require local matching funds that the village does not have.
“Our tax base is very, very small,” Murphy said. “We have to be mindful of residents and try to do the best we can with what we have.”
← Carmel Tupper Lake →