Ryan Dunham and his family have lived across the road from a farm field in New Scotland for 21 years. He was used to the smell of manure and fertilizer, but the use of sewage sludge a year ago changed that.
“The first thing that hit us was the smell, which was unbearable,” Dunham said. “It smelled like rot, like something had died. My kids didn’t want to go outside in the middle of July.”
Then he heard his daughter yell from the shower.
“Our water was brown and had that same terrible smell that went with it so for a few weeks, we couldn’t drink the water, we couldn’t bathe in the water, and we couldn’t even bear to smell the water,” Dunham said.
The smell originated from the farm across the street that had several black piles of sewage sludge that stood about 8 feet tall, Dunham said.
“At that point, I contacted the [county] Department of Health, DEC and the town, they came out here and did all sorts of testing, and our levels of E. coli and coliform were 200 times acceptable levels,” he said.
Ten of his neighbors then had their wells tested and six of them were found to be contaminated with E. coli and coliform as well, and another four on a nearby street later came back above acceptable levels. Dunham said he had never heard of sewage sludge or biosolids and became concerned after doing research.
PFAS is introduced to the wastewater treatment systems through household products containing the chemicals, human waste, and industries that use the chemicals. Currently, there isn’t an efficient way to remove the nearly 15,000 types of PFAS from wastewater, so they remain in the biosolids.
“What I’m worried about is the PFAS, the forever chemicals, how much of this have we already ingested? And what are the long-term health effects especially on an 11-year-old and 13-year-old who still have developing brains. This stuff leads to developmental delays, infertility issues, cancers and that’s what I worry about now when my kids are taking showers and that’s horrifying as a parent,” Dunham said.
The farm that spread biosolids on the New Scotland Road field did not respond to a request for comment.
Before this trouble, he already had a UV light water system for his drinking water, which was meant to treat bacteria, but it wasn’t enough.
“The Department of Health said there was so much contamination coming in that the UV light couldn’t keep up, so since that time we invested in a reverse osmosis system and we only drink water that comes from that specific tap,” Dunham said.
Brian Bailey lives three houses down from Dunham. Albany County Department of Health found his well to be contaminated with E. coli, too.
“As a homeowner, the most important thing for me is that first there is no more contamination. Remediation is all well and good, but if contamination continues to occur, no level of remediation will resolve the issue,” Bailey said.
After being notified that his well was contaminated, Bailey installed an ultraviolet water treatment system for about $400, but he has considered taking more advanced measures.
“I think what’s probably in the future, depending on how things sort themselves out, I may have to do something like reverse osmosis either for some faucets or all faucets. That’s a completely different level of expense,” Bailey said.
He doesn’t drink the water from his well but instead purchases bottled water.
“I do plan on having my well tested for PFAS too because I need to know. I want to know and that will inform me as to what I decide to do next as far as filtration,” Bailey said.
Both Dunham and Bailey live at the top of a valley and below them is Vly Creek Reservoir, where the town of Bethlehem gets their drinking water. They estimate the reservoir is about 400 feet below their properties. Last year, the body of water had an abnormal algae bloom that caused concern among residents.
David VanLuven, the supervisor of Bethlehem, said the reservoir supplies about 12,000 households and businesses with their drinking water.
“I learned that the distribution of biosolids as fertilizers were regulated by the state but when I asked where the biosolids came from, I got no answer. When I asked whether they contained PFAS or other heavy metals, I got bureaucratic jibber jabber, and when I asked for how long the biosolids have been spread, I got silence,” VanLuven said.
The town of Bethlehem released PFAS test results from the Vly Creek Reservoir on March 6, which were under the EPA drinking water maximum contaminant levels of 4 parts per trillion.
“The safety of our drinking water is our highest priority. We know this is a state and national issue causing public concern, and the town will continue to actively work to deliver safe drinking water now, to protect our water sources and prepare for future changes, and to transparently report all future test results,” VanLuven said in a statement.
Last week, state Sen. Peter Harckham, a Democrat from Westchester, and Assemblywoman Anna Kelles, a Democrat from Trumansburg, discussed their bills to put a five-year moratorium on the use of biosolids in New York. However, in a letter to these lawmakers, the New York Water Environment Association said the moratorium could cause other issues.
“A moratorium on biosolids land application could adversely impact public health and the environment,” the letter said.
Other than land application, biosolids are either put in a landfill or incinerated – both of which have other complications. Landfills are filling up, and incineration puts the chemicals into the air. Maine has banned the land application of biosolids, but the letter cites data that New York produces 377,663 dry tons of biosolids per year whereas Maine produces 24,286 dry tons.
New York state has banned the use of PFAS in outdoor apparel, food packaging, firefighting equipment and firefighting foam, with other bills proposed to further control the source of PFAS. The letter said these actions make a difference when it comes to biosolids.
“Because [wastewater treatment facilities] are passive recipients of PFAS contamination, the focus should continue to be removing PFAS sources, not to ban land application,” the letter reads.
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