Safe to drink?

"I got a notice in the mail two days after the boil order was lifted," said a friend to me yesterday, rolling her eyes.  She doesn't spend time on Facebook and had heard about the lifting through friends.

I got emailed the lift notice by the village clerk, and then shared it on Facebook, posted it here, and told everyone I met about it.  I'm glad that the village took the extra step of sending out an email, particularly since some water users didn't know about the health alert for two days.  Not everyone can be reached via email, and I'm at a loss to suggest a way to get the word out about a health crisis that is as comprehensive as the mail, but not as hazardously slow, although I've suggested some low-cost options like the email alert that could at least increase the message saturation.

The boil order was a pain, but it sure made me think about how we use water.  Every time I turned on the tap, or poured from a plastic jug, I pondered how fragile our dependence on water is.  We use it to drink, cook, wash, and flush away our excrement.  Some people say that after the oil wars, the fights will be over water.  It seems abundant here, particularly during a brutal flood season, but this boil order makes me realize that clean, safe water is not guaranteed and should never be taken for granted.

The lack of comments on my posts about our water and sewer problems makes me wonder what this blog's small base of loyal readers thinks about water safety and water usage in New Paltz.  Am I the only person who isn't in government who is concerned about water?

Water ban lifted

Boil Water Notice Lifted 9/13/11

Village and Town of New Paltz Public Water Supply

The Village of New Paltz in conjunction with the Ulster County Health Department are advising that the municipal water supply is once again, meeting and exceeding the standards set forth in the sanitary codes of New York State.

Therefore, the boil water notice is lifted and consumers of the Village, Town water districts and State University at New Paltz may again consume/ drink the water.

Additionally the Village Board extends their gratitude to all consumers inconvenienced during this event.

What turbid water means

I'm trying to wrap my mind around the boil water order and other issues with water in New Paltz, and I'm sure I'm not the only confused person in the community.  I contacted the Ulster County Health Department and spoke with Shelly to get some answers.

Both of our water systems - the water coming out of the tap and the stuff going down the toilet - can have problems during what we used to call "hundred year floods."  They are different problems, caused by the same thing - too much water.

The boil order is because of the massive amount of water feeding into the reservoir system that the village taps into.  The water gets stirred up (that's your "turbidity"), and because of the volume there's no way for the water treatment plant to filter the stuff back out.  The stuff which is stirred up could be just about anything one might find in a body of water . . . silt, sand, fish poop, critters too small for the eye to see . . . hence the precautionary order to boil our water.

Flooding also makes it impossible for the sewer plant to clean up all the water before it goes into the Wallkill.  That's the source of the consent order you may have heard the village is under.  Our system backs up far too easily, coming out of manholes in its raw and smelly state and getting right into the Wallkill.  It's a more serious problem, but since no one is drinking Wallkill river water, most members of the public aren't clamoring for an immediate solution.

I was completely unclear about how the two are related, but that doesn't minimize how serious the problems are.  Frankly, the village board needs our help in finding ways to solve our infrastructure problems, with the sewer system being tops on the list.