Water Quality - Rochester, NY area  

RochesterEnvironment.com

Consider what living in our area would be like if we did not have plenty of fresh clean water.  

 

Page Contents: Water Quality Newslinks | Water Quality Discussions  | Your Right to Safe Drinking Water  | Official Water Sites | Water Quality Actions  | Water Quality Resources |

 

Why Water Quality is important to Rochesterians and our environment

Rochester's drinking water is very important, as it is in any community.  Any degradation in the quality of our water is critical to our health and our environment. Water Quality

Also, the quality of the water in many of our local waters (including streams, rivers, the Finger Lakes, and Great Lakes) is changing because of Urban Sprawl, invasive species, Climate Change, and the presence of many man-made toxins and even pharmaceuticals.  Find out all there is about our area's water quality.  Following the news on Water Quality can reveal important trends that may otherwise be lost if we only pay attention to major stories when they break in mainstream media.

 

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Water Quality Discussions

The Rochester, NY area is surrounded by fresh clean water from its stream, rivers, Finger Lakes, and the Great Lakes.  So, how have we been doing on keeping all these bodies of water fresh and clean for future generations?

  • Here are some sites that explain why we must renew our faith in tap water and why bottled water could be bad for our environment: Take Back The Tap "What you don’t know about the bottled water industry could be costing you hundreds of dollars a year. Get the facts on bottled water and find out why tap water is a better bet. " | Water | Corporate Accountability International "Clean drinking water is the basis for life, but soon two out of three people globally will not have enough of it to survive. Private corporations, often with the help of the World Bank, are increasingly determining who gets water, for what purpose and at what price. It is now our choice – will we manage water democratically so everyone has clean, safe water, or will we let corporate interests control this precious common resource at an overwhelming human cost? " | Bottled Water Free Day "Join the Canadian Federation of Students, the Sierra Youth Coalition, and the Polaris Institute in the countdown to Canada’s first Bottled Water Free Day! Organisations across the country are actively working and supporting Bottled Water Free Day by planning actions in their communities and adopting resolutions in support of the Bottled Water Free Day Pledge. "
  • Good Well Water Everyone has the right to clean, potable water. Even people in the United States using well water. This is not a fact, or ideology, or belief, or some mental quirk or disposition of mine. No reasonable person can argue this point reasonably. However, “There are no statewide or county laws that require testing of wells in Monroe County, and no enforceable water-quality standards that apply to private supplies.” (6/03/ 09 Democrat and Chronicle) So, the issue about getting clean, potable drinking well water from a well is somehow different from drinking municipal waters, which do have an enforceable standard. There, as it seems, is the rub.  more...
  • Water Issue: Don’t miss this series by the New York Times on the long series of violations of the Clean Water Act of 1972.  Environmental issues don’t tend to go away because people are too busy or uninterested.  Many people, rather than think about the decades of inadequate enforcement of the Clean Air Act (if they think such things at all), grab bottled water and be done with it. Case closed, hand me my TV remote.  What most interesting to me is not merely the pervasiveness of the violations of this law (‘cause that’s what corporations do), but how we react to this overwhelming environmental issue—clean water.  We are not reacting to the world-wide pollution of our fresh water well.  more...
  • How's our Infrestructure? Although the story below is addressed to the Albany area specifically, the issue of old sewer infrastructure is not a popular environmental issue but it is going to have to be addressed in every community. Old sewer pipes creating a tough challenge -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY:2783: ALBANY -- Aging sewer systems in the Capital Region are dumping more than a billion gallons of watered-down, untreated sewage into the Hudson River each year, according to a report by the Capital District Regional Planning Commission. (November 15, 09 ) Albany NY News - Times Union - Serving Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, Troy  more...
  • Should Rochester Worry About Clean Water? Because we live in an area so rich in Clean Water, we forget that water scarcity is a world-wide crisis that need addressing. And because we have so much clean water, we are part of this equation: Could water scarcity cause international conflict? | csmonitor.com "In reporting a recent story on a fight over water between residents of a small Colorado town and Nestlé Waters North America, a bottled water company, I learned much about water scarcity around the world, and the sense — also growing — that shortages of water could spark much future conflict. In recent years, there’s been a proliferation of books on the world’s present and future water woes, from Maude Barlow’s Blue Covenant to Robert Glennon’s Unquenchable." --from The Christian Science Monitor | csmonitor.com  more...

 

Safe Drinking Water is a basic right.

Check these official rules and regulation concerning your right to clean fresh water. 

  • Clean Water Act (CWA) | Agriculture | US EPA The objective of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act (CWA), is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources, providing assistance to publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of  wastewater treatment, and maintaining the integrity of wetlands.  
  • Drinking Water Protection Program "Assuring the delivery of safe drinking water is critical to the public health and well being of all New Yorkers. The Department of Health oversees the delivery of drinking water to ensure that it is suitable for people to drink. To assure the safety of drinking water in New York, the Department of Health in cooperation with its partners, the county health departments, regulates the operation, design and quality of public water supplies and commercial bottled water suppliers; assures water sources are adequately protected; provides financial assistance to public water suppliers, reviews and approves plans for proposed realty subdivisions, and sets standards for constructing individual water supplies and individual wastewater systems (septic systems). " - New York State Department of Health
  • EPA > Water > Safewater > Safe Drinking Water Act Home The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the main federal law that ensures the quality of Americans' drinking water.  Under SDWA, EPA sets standards for drinking water quality and oversees the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards.
  • Water Well Program - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Registration - The NYS Water Well Driller Registration Law, as amended by the NYS Legislature in July 1999, requires any business conducting "water well drilling activities" to register annually with NYSDEC before doing business anywhere within the State of New York. (See ECL § 15-1525). Prior to amendment, the law required registration for well drilling activities only within 4 counties of NY (Nassau, Suffolk, Kings and Queens).
  • New York Drinking Water The water you drink, Drinking water suppliers now provide reports (sometimes called consumer confidence reports) that tell where drinking water comes from, and what contaminants may be in it. Read your water quality report if it is online, or contact your water supplier to get a copy. Or, call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. For a copy of the list of systems included in this action and their compliance status as of today, please call 212-637-3675. --from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  •  Monroe County Department of Health A Health Information Line is frequently used when specific immediate actions are required of the public to safeguard their health. This number is often cited by media outlets for ease in directing callers to a particular program.   Health Information Line: 585 753-5600
  • USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Toxic Substances Hydrology (Toxics) Program was initiated in 1982. The goal of the Program is to provide scientific information on the behavior of toxic substances in the Nation's hydrologic environments. Contamination of surface water, ground water, soil, sediment, and the atmosphere by toxic substances is among the most significant issues facing the Nation. Contaminants such as excessive nutrients, organic chemicals, metals, and pathogens enter the environment, often inadvertently, via industrial, agricultural, mining, or other human activities. The extent of their migration and their persistence often are difficult to ascertain. Estimates of the costs and time frames for cleanup of contamination and protection of human and environmental health can best be described as astounding, despite continual efforts by governments and industries worldwide to improve environmental technologies.
  • Capacity Development Program - Strategy Report Improving The Technical, Managerial, and Financial Capabilities of Public Water Systems in New York One of the focuses of the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments is to ensure that public water systems have the ability to provide safe drinking water to the public. The Amendments seek to prevent compliance problems and associated health risks by ensuring that public water systems have the capability to produce safe drinking water now and in the future. To achieve these goals, the Amendments include provisions for several prevention programs – one of which is the capacity development program.--from the NYS Department of Health. 
  • National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Founded in 1944, the National Sanitation Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to developing standards, product certifications and risk-management practices for public health and safety. NSF focuses primarily on food, water, indoor air quality and the environment while developing its standards.

 

The Story of Bottled Water FILM RELEASE: On World Water Day, new Story of Stuff Project film takes a provocative, humorous look at bottled water The Story of Bottled Water: How Manufactured Demand pushes what we don’t need and destroys what we need most SAN FRANCISCO, CA – On March 22nd – World Water Day – The Story of Stuff Project will release The Story of Bottled Water, a 7-minute animated film, at www.storyofbottledwater.org . Hosted by Annie Leonard, the creator of the internet hit The Story of Stuff, the film was co-produced with five leading sustainability advocacy organizations: Corporate Accountability International, Environmental Working Group, Food & Water Watch, Polaris Institute and Pacific Institute. The Story of Bottled Water employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand, specifically how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when they can get it almost free from a tap.

Official Rochester-area Water Regulations sites

Got Water issues? Contact your water providers.

  • Monroe County Water Authority  Our MCWA treatment plants produce 62 million gallons of drinking water every day for homes in Monroe, Genesee, Ontario, Wayne, and Orleans counties. 
  • City of Rochester | Water The City of Rochester provides potable water to its residents. Each property that has an active, metered service can consume water from the distribution system. The City turns water on for new structures or for properties that formerly canceled water service, and turns water off when owners of unoccupied properties request that water service be discontinued. To allow for short-term repairs or improvements to a water service, a property owner may request that the supply of water to a property be shut off for a period not exceeding 24-hours. 
    • City of Rochester | Water Quality Annual Reports "The City of Rochester is proud to supply its residents with clean, high quality water. The Bureau of Water annually produces a Water Quality Report that provides residents with information on the quality of drinking water, news on the water system, details on the source of drinking water and its treatment and test results. " -from City of Rochester
  • VanLare Wastewater Treatment Facility - General Information  The Frank E. VanLare Wastewater Treatment Facility dates from 1917. The original Rochester Sewage Treatment Plant, formerly the Durand Eastman Plant, was completed in 1917 and has since been expanded and modified on several occasions. 1976 was the first full year of operation for the new facilities at the VanLare Plant.

Get Active on Protecting Water Quality

There are groups and organizations who focus on keeping our area's water clean and safe. Contact them.  Join up.

  • Adopt-A-Stream  Do you enjoy and value being outdoors? Are you concerned about clean water, and wonder what you can do about it? Or perhaps you live, work, or play near a stream, and wonder if it’s healthy? We invite concerned people like you to take an active role in assuring the well-being of your communities' water resources.
  • How to test farms & nearby water sources.  A useful guide to environmental groups who want to check up on farms and pollution: Putting Factory Farms to the Test: A Guide to Community-based Water Monitoring - Changes in farming practices over the last 60 years have dramatically increased the potential to harm the environment and human health, especially in the livestock sector. Large intensive livestock operations can increase the risk of environmental contamination from harmful bacteria, foul odours and toxic vapours. As a result of such effects, citizens are becoming concerned about large livestock operations in their communities. Putting Factory Farms to the Test is a manual designed to help community groups monitor the effects of local factory farms on nearby water sources. The manual is a step-by-step guide to help community groups start their monitoring program, collect samples, manage data and put the results to good use in the community. --from Environmental Defence Canada

 

Water Quality Resources

Learn about how to protect our area's clean water

  • NRDC: Testing the Waters 2010 "NRDC's annual survey of water quality and public notification at U.S. beaches finds that the number of beach closings and advisories in 2009 hit their sixth-highest level in the 20-year history of the report. The number of closing and advisory days at ocean, bay and Great Lakes beaches topped 18,000 for the fifth consecutive year, confirming that our nation's beaches continue to suffer from bacterial pollution that puts swimmers at risk. Testing the Waters traditionally focuses on information from the previous beach season, but this year, NRDC is providing coverage of current events at beaches in the Gulf in addition to providing information about last year's beachwater quality. Tens of millions of gallons of oil have gushed into Gulf waters from the Deepwater Horizon well, and at the time of this writing, oil has washed up on beaches in Alabama, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. NRDC is tracking oil spill-related beach closings, advisories, and notices at Gulf beaches.  " (July 2010) NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council - The Earth's Best Defense
  • Get the Beach Report: NRDC: Testing the Waters 2009 "A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches | NRDC's annual survey of water quality and public notification at U.S. beaches finds that pollution caused the number of beach closings and advisories to hit their fourth-highest level in the 19-year history of the report. The number of 2008 closing and advisory days at ocean, bay and Great Lakes beaches topped 20,000 for the fourth consecutive year, confirming that our nation's beaches continue to suffer from serious water pollution that puts swimmers at risk."
  • Citizens Campaign for the Environment: Water Protection -- from CCE - Water Protection Public Health Energy Renewable Policy Toxic Wildlife Chemical Contamination Subscribe Newsletter Jobs Calendar Pollution Air Quality Advocacy Farmingdale White Plains Albany Syracuse Buffalo
  • Find out how to protect Rochester-area water quality: The Watershed: Home of the H2O Hero and your source for water education."What is the story behind H2O Hero? The Water Education Collaborative (WEC) set out to develop an awareness campaign that would educate the residents of the Genesee Valley watershed about the enormous impact they can have on the water quality in our area. WEC leaders teamed up with the Advertising Council of Rochester, a local nonprofit organization that creates awareness campaigns to address community-wide issues. The Ad Council pulled in a volunteer marketing team from SIGMA Marketing Group, and the rest is history."
  • Founded in 1992, the Center for Watershed Protection works with local, state, and federal governmental agencies, environmental consulting firms, watershed organizations, and the general public to provide objective and scientifically sound information on effective techniques to protect and restore urban watersheds.
  • Arsenic in Drinking Water FAQ  Answers to questions including: How can I find out whether my drinking water contains arsenic? Can I buy a filter that will remove arsenic from my water? I drink bottled water -- do I have to worry about arsenic? --from Natural Resources Defense Council. 
  • New York Rural Water Association With over 900 voting members, New York Rural Water Association (NYRWA) is the largest membership organization representing small water/wastewater systems in the state. Our system members include villages, towns, municipal water and sewer districts, county authorities, state and federal institutions/facilities, schools and colleges, investor-owned water utilities, homeowner associations, and privately owned systems such as mobile home parks. Most of our systems serve a population of less than 10,000 each. NYRWA is run by and for rural systems. A volunteer Board of Directors comprised of representatives from rural water/wastewater systems and small communities governs us. In addition, NYRWA has over 135 Associate Members. Our Associate Members include industry suppliers, consultants, and contractors. The support of these companies is a key to NYRWA's success. NYRWA is also affiliated with the National Rural Water Association.
  • NY Water Environment Association, Inc.The New York Water Environment Association, Inc. (NYWEA) was founded in 1929, by professionals in the field of water quality as a non-profit, educational organization. Association members helped lead the way toward existing state and national clean water programs. Today the Association has over 2,500 members representing diverse backgrounds and specialties, but all are concerned and involved with protecting and enhancing our precious water resources.
  • 3/04/2010 - Increase your Environmental Education on fresh clean water. Check out this instructive lesson on where we get our drinking water. Multimedia - where does your water come from? It’s not surprising that so many Americans don’t know where our drinking water comes from. We have long benefitted from sophisticated water infrastructure – networks of pipes and pumps and filtration plants – that bring water from rivers, lakes and natural underground supplies right into our homes. The Nature Conservancy - Protecting Nature, Preserving Life
  • Lead in Drinking Water | Safewater | Water | US EPA "Lead, a metal found in natural deposits, is commonly used in household plumbing materials and water service lines. The greatest exposure to lead is swallowing or breathing in lead paint chips and dust. But lead in drinking water can also cause a variety of adverse health effects. In babies and children, exposure to lead in drinking water above the action level can result in delays in physical and mental development, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, it can cause increases in blood pressure. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure. Lead is rarely found in source water, but enters tap water through corrosion of plumbing materials. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. However, new homes are also at risk: even legally “lead-free” plumbing may contain up to 8 percent lead. The most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures which can leach significant amounts of lead into the water, especially hot water. "