NEWBURGH, N.Y. -- Newburgh City Manager Michael Ciaravino had strong words at Monday night's city council meeting.

"Based on what I know, never, ever, ever accept the Washington Lake water into our treatment plant, and drink that water," he said.

Newburgh switched their drinking supply from Washington Lake to the Catskill Aqueduct when the contaminant PFOS was found in 2016. The aqueduct needs repairs, and the drinking supply will switch to Brown's Pond starting next month.   

"We're all hoping the 10 week timeline is actually correct because there's a great concern that if it goes over the 10 weeks, and Brown's Pond doesn't suffice, then we're in a real pinch and then what happens, there's a lot of unknowns," said Newburgh Clean Water Project volunteer Ophra Wolf.   

Ciaravino says Albany is pushing for Washington Lake as a drinking source, since the state put a filtration system in place. The problem, he says, is that it's obsolete. 

"Without regard to political pressure, we have a fiduciary duty and obligation to make sure that the City of Newburgh and its residents don't get played for chumps when it comes to this $20 million granular activated treatment plant," said Ciaravino.   

Ciaravino says a type of PFOS, short-chain PFOS, won't be filtered out, putting locals in danger. The Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation released a joint statement in response:

“The carbon filtration system, designed and built at the state’s expense, and in close collaboration with the City of Newburgh, employs scientifically proven technology to effectively remove all PFCs. This includes both long and short chain compounds. The state stands ready to complete necessary testing of the system, share the results with residents and demonstrate this system’s effectiveness in delivering clean water to this community for years to come.” 

Clean water advocates say once safe, Washington Lake should be a drinking source, but agree there's still more to be done with PFOS cleanup here.

"We believe that Washington Lake can and should be saved, and that should be our goal, so we don't believe with the city manager's overall point. However, there is legitimate truth to what he's saying," said Riverkeeper Water Quality Program Director Dan Shapley.