Orange County private well owners can get free PFAS testing
Orange County private well owners can get free PFAS testing starting the week of July 6, with Newburgh first in line and rebates possible if contamination is found.
Orange County private well owners will soon be able to test for PFAS at no cost under a state pilot program that opened its application window the week of July 6. The program will give Orange County its first countywide picture of what is in private well water.
The pilot also includes five other counties because the state chose densely populated areas with many private wells. The Town of Newburgh sits at the top of Orange County’s priority list.
Testing is voluntary, first-come, first-served and limited by available funds. New York is covering the screening itself, and county involvement comes later, at the rebate stage if a sample comes back above the state drinking-water standard and the homeowner decides to act. The state is using EPA Method 537.1 version 2 to test for PFOA and PFOS, the two PFAS compounds most common in New York drinking water and among the most studied.
If a private well test shows PFOA or PFOS at 10 ng/L, or 10 ppt, or higher, a homeowner may qualify for a one-time rebate after installing an in-home treatment system or connecting to municipal water, if that service is available. Property owners must apply for the rebate within six months of getting their results. Residents should contact the Orange County Department of Health for rebate applications and program status, while the state handles the testing process itself.
PFAS exposure from private wells mainly comes from drinking water and food cooked with it, not from bathing or washing. There has been no prior study of PFAS in Orange County private wells, so the pilot can tell homeowners whether they need a filter, a connection to public water or another fix.
In Newburgh, PFAS was confirmed in the City of Newburgh’s drinking water in March 2016. Since then, state-funded bottled water, municipal water extensions and private residential connections have been used in PFAS-impacted areas in Newburgh and New Windsor. Test results may have to be disclosed to a prospective buyer under New York real property law.
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