The city of Newburgh has been dealing with the harmful effects of PFAS chemicals in its water supply for years. After millions of dollars were spent clearing the city's water of the toxic chemicals, many local leaders say more should be done.

On Friday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand joined state Sen. James Skoufis and others at the Newburgh Water Department to announce new legislation designed to address polluters contaminating the nation's waterways with PFAS chemicals.

While most Americans don’t think twice about washing their hands with water coming from faucets in their homes, many Newburgh residents haven’t had that luxury after years of concern over the harmful PFAS chemicals in the city’s water.

"People really didn’t know what was going on," city resident Kathryn McKenzie said. "It was just a state of emergency, which sounds really scary, and yeah, Facebook was just rampant with speculation like, "can't drink the water," "are we ever going to drink the water?"

McKenzie grew up in Newburgh. Although she was away at college when the PFAS chemical crisis began, she saw firsthand how scared her family and neighbors were.

"I think we were using a lot of bottled water," she said. "I think that’s what we did for a long time."

She's now a SUNY student studying environmental policy and PFAS chemicals. She trusts the water coming out of the pipes since the city has this granulated activated carbon filtration plant, which polishes the water and tests it for any contaminants before it's sent to people's homes.

But some members of McKenzie's family are still skeptical.

"I know that my sister still does not trust the water," she said.

PFAS chemicals are known as forever chemicals because they don’t break down in the environment. They were used for decades in the production of commercial products like water repellant clothing and firefighting foams, like those that were used at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh.

PFAS chemicals have been associated with higher cancer risks and developmental delays.

"This is very scary, but we have to deal with it. We have no choice. I mean, unfortunately, we are, unfortunately, the guinea pigs for this cutting-edge science that’s trying to figure out what the effects of PFAS are," McKenzie said.

Gillibrand is introducing a bill that will regulate PFAS chemicals under the Clean Water Act.

"To this day, the EPA lacks adequate regulations limiting the discharge of PFAS chemicals into our nation's water bodies under the Clean Water Act," Gillibrand said.

The Clean Water Standards for PFAS 2.0 Act, led by New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas, would set deadlines for the Environmental Protection Agency to set water quality criteria, and limit industrial PFAS discharge into waterways and water treatment plants.

"It gives me hope. I know that all this is happening within the last few years. It feels like a long time for somebody who's personally affected. I've been drinking the water for years. I'm hesitant to be optimistic, but it does feel like there is change moving in the right direction," McKenzie said.