Hoosick Falls

## Summary

The public water system serving Hoosick Falls detected no PFAS compounds above the EPA Minimum Reporting Level in the most recent round of federal testing, a result that reflects years of remediation work following one of the most consequential water contamination discoveries in recent American history. In 2014, resident Michael Hickey identified PFOA contamination in the village's municipal supply and traced it to manufacturing operations run by Saint-Gobain and Honeywell. The village responded by installing granular activated carbon treatment and developing alternative water sources later in the 2010s, and both companies entered settlements with the village and affected residents. Importantly, the broader contamination story in the Hoosick Falls area has always involved private wells in surrounding rural areas as much as the municipal system itself, and residents on private wells should not assume the municipal system's clean result applies to their water.

## What the data shows

The Hoosick Falls Village Public Water System (PWSID NY4100041), which serves approximately 4,900 people, was tested under the EPA's fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). That rule required utilities to test for 29 PFAS compounds across multiple samples. All 29 compounds came back as non-detect, meaning no PFAS were found above the EPA Minimum Reporting Level in any sample collected from this system.

## What residents should know

Customers of the Hoosick Falls Village public water system can take some reassurance from these results, though UCMR 5 represents a snapshot in time and ongoing monitoring remains important. Residents in the surrounding rural areas who rely on private wells are not covered by this testing and should not read the municipal result as applying to their situation; private well contamination has been a documented concern in this region and warrants separate attention. Anyone with questions about their specific water source should contact the village water utility directly for the most current information. Those on private wells or with any concerns about their tap water may want to review filter guidance available through their local health department or the EPA's PFAS resources.