BETHPAGE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — On Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York state will clean up decades old ground water contamination that’s spreading under several Long Island communities.
He makes it with bottled water, and doesn’t dare use tap.
For years, the public water has been treated to remove toxins, but now Governor Cuomo said he is launching a complete fix, no longer waiting for the polluters to act.
Enough damage has been done,” he said.
It’s welcome news for a bipartisan group of Long Islanders who did not think the plume could be contained, and have gone to battle with the U.S. Navy to pay for the clean up.
“No community should be afraid to drink its water.
“So it can’t spread and there will be further wells inside the plume to remove all the hot spots,” Bethpage Water District Superintendent, Michael Boufis said,”That will do the trick.
The cost to contain the plume is $150-million.
The governor said the state will do the work now and recoup it from the polluters later, and through the courts if necessary.
The well system will extract and treat the water using carbon filtration, air stripping technology, and ultraviolet light as well as advanced oxidation.