Editor's Note: This article has been revised to include details on the the Environmental Working Group's methodology.

UPDATE: Statement from Ossining village officials: We understand that a news article has been circulated containing material that pertains to Ossining's water quality. The Town and Village of Ossining are required to comply with the water standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and New York State. Ossining's water system, which serves the Unincorporated Town and Village of Ossining, is in full compliance with all of those requirements, as confirmed by our Superintendent of Water Andrew Tiess. Unless and until the EPA and New York State revise their guidelines, we will continue to operate in accordance with their standards. OSSINING, NY — When water flows out of the faucet and into a glass, it usually appears clean and healthy. A report released Wednesday, though, found hundreds of harmful contaminants across the American water supply that can cause cancer, developmental issues in children, problems in pregnancy and other serious health conditions.

According to the Environmental Working Group, which produced the study, "The vast majority of the nation's drinking water supplies get a passing grade from federal and state regulatory agencies. However, many of the 250-plus contaminants detected through water sampling and testing are at levels that are perfectly legal under the Safe Drinking Water Act or state regulations, but well above levels authoritative scientific studies have found to pose health risks. What's more, the Environmental Protection Agency has not added a new contaminant to the list of regulated drinking water pollutants in more than 20 years. "For the levels this database endorses as safe, we relied on the best available science, going far beyond regulations that are too often driven by political compromise with polluters rather than protecting public health," the researchers said.

In the communities served by the Ossining Water Department, there were eight contaminants detected above the Environmental Working Group's standards, according to data that was released on Wednesday. The Ossining Water Department serves 30,000 people. There were seven contaminants found at levels above the Environmental Working Group's standards, in Croton-on-Hudson village water, according to EWG. Croton-on-Hudson provides water to 8,000 people, EWG said.



EWG notes, however, that tap water provided by both the Ossining Water Department and the village of Croton-on-Hudson was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards in the latest quarter addressed by the Environmental Protection Agency, which was from January to March 2017.

From 2010 to 2015, EWG collected results of tests conducted by the water utility, which was provided to them by the New York Department of Health- Bureau of Public Water Supply Protection, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database.

Ossining has its own treatment plant or water supply, and also buys or otherwise receives some of its finished water from one or more public water utility systems to provide water for a part of its service area and customers. The supplemental water supplier is New Castle/Stanwood WD. The following contaminants were detected above the EWG's standards in drinking water provided by the Ossining Water Department: