In his first-ever press conference, Woodstock supervisor Bill McKenna addressed misinformation on social media and provided an update on the detection of PFAS in the town water supply.
McKenna said the town was doing source testing for PFAS, but needed to do more to determine where it should do the readings.
“Then we can work to determine where it might be coming from. At this point, we can only speculate,” he explained. “The flow of water from the aquifer is in an easterly direction from the Sawkill Bearsville complex area towards the center of town. The assumption could be made that the source of contamination is not coming from east of pump house number one, located in the Little League ballfields.”
The higher reading is coming from a well near the ballfields.
“Anything east of that, since the flow of water is coming toward town, it’s unlikely the source would be coming from down in this direction.”
McKenna noted that the non-detects in the well field closest to the Sawkill are the source of 80 percent of the town water.
“The fact that there’s no readings in those wells would indicate that the source is not coming from upstream,” he said. “It should be noted there are several businesses located in the area between the stream and the affected well, including one former lens manufacturer in direct line with the well. In addition, all the homes in Bearsville Flats are on private septic systems. Any PFAS flushed down those streams could potentially end up in our aquifer.”
PFAS is in everything from clothing to household chemicals to non-stick cooking surfaces.
Addressing speculation the source could be the contaminated fill on Church Road in Shady, McKenna said the readings didn’t point to that.
“What we’re seeing would indicate otherwise. Because Shady is upstream, it would be coming down the Sawkill, and it would be showing up most likely in the five wells closest to the stream. Those are all getting non-detects,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s not coming from Shady. Most people think it would be too early, that something from Shady would take far longer to migrate down.’
The low end of what a lab can assess is a reporting limit that varies by sample. In PFAS testing over the last four years, the reporting limit has varied from 1.79 to 2.03 parts per trillion.
“The first positive reading for PFAS in town came in December 2023 from pump house number one, which came back at 3.48 parts per trillion with a reporting limit of 1.91,” McKenna said. “I contacted both the county and state health departments to get a better understanding of this. Both departments indicated somewhat unconcerned opinion because the state’s limit was 10 parts per trillion.”
The pump house that tested positive included a new well that had just been placed into service, McKenna said. Was the new well equipment the source?
“One possible theory — it’s not one we’re ascribing to — but a possible theory is that somehow the new well and/or the equipment has introduced PFAS into the system,” McKenna said.
In consultation with the county health department, the town decided to evaluate more regularly.
In other news, Woodstock supervisor McKenna doesn’t trust information gleaned from the social media. “One of the frustrations, I think for all supervisors, is Facebook and Nextdoor, and it’s a quandary of information and misinformation,” he said.
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