Drinking Water Tests Positive For PCBs

Drinking water in the Village of Stillwater has tested positive for the potentially cancer-causing substance known as PCB, the Mayor and the State Department of Health said Monday.

The maximum reading of 119 nano-grams per liter is still "below the state drinking water standard of 500 parts per trillion (ppt) for PCBs established by the EPA," according to the Department of Health.

"The water is safe: that's what they're saying," said Ernest Martin, Mayor of the Village of Stillwater. "I'm not saying anything."

Martin said he has advised residents to drink and use the water at their own discretion.

"It makes me a little nervous," said Kim Rist, of Stillwater. "I'm not going to drink it out of the tap anymore."

Mayor Martin fears the scheduled dredging of the Hudson River next year will stir-up even more PCBs. As a result, he is calling on the governor and the EPA to find an alternative drinking water source for the 30,000 residents who may be affected.

The Mayor is fighting for a pipeline connecting Stillwater to the planned tank in the Town of Malta, but that is more than a year away while dredging is slated to begin in a matter of months.

"It's a race against the clock," he said.