New Paltz without water amid reservoir sheen; bottles, tanker supply offered

Village of New Paltz Mayor Tim Rogers is unsure when village and town residents can safely resume drinking their water, as agencies investigate a sheen on a reservoir on Mountain Rest Road.

Rogers said a high volume of complaints that the water smelled and tasted like gasoline or kerosene prompted the village to issue a warning Monday to avoid using the water for drinking, cooking or making ice.

The warning prompted SUNY New Paltz to cancel classes and is mandating that resident students leave campus until at least Sunday.

The New Paltz Central School District canceled classes Tuesday and closed its offices. Classes will be open Wednesday, though the water in some schools is not drinkable.

Stations were set up around the area at which residents could pick up bottles of water or fill up containers from tankers. The state is supplying 40,000 gallons of fresh water, according to a release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Office.

While unsafe to ingest, the village warning noted the water can still be used for bathing and washing dishes and clothes.

Rogers said Department of Public Works employees noticed a sheen or substance in its front reservoir on Mountain Rest Road Monday following the warning. A spill report was issued to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Rogers said the village's licensed water operator, state Department of Health and DEC officials are taking samples at the water treatment plant and numerous locations. He said results could be available as soon as Wednesday.

Absorbent booms and pads have been placed in the reservoir and DEC spill responders will remain on-site, "to ensure public health and the environment are protected," according to the release from Cuomo.

Rogers could not give an exact timeline for when residents will be able to drink village water again, but said if necessary the village is capable of isolating any of its four reservoirs if found problematic.

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"We're sampling numerous spots in our distribution system and our water plant; we want to rule out everything we possibly can," Rogers said.

Where to get water

Town of New Paltz Police and the village's social media pages will be providing updates on water availability and the investigation.

Numerous locations were set up Tuesday to offer relief.

A 6,000-gallon tanker is available at Village Hall for residents to bring containers and fill with water at all hours. Residents also may either take five water bottles per person or a case of water for each household, according to the village.

Meadowbrook apartment complex is offering a "water buffalo," 500 gallons of water, and residents can fill containers all day.

The Town & Country apartment complex will offer another "water buffalo" when it becomes available, the village said in a release Tuesday.

What it means for students

New Paltz Central School District Superintendent Bernard Josefsberg said testing on district buildings found that water in Duzine Elementary School, New Paltz High School and Middle School is not drinkable. He said Lenape Elementary School was unaffected, being that it is on a well system.

He said the district will provide bottled water to students, and lunches will be prepared with water from the Lenape building until the situation is resolved.

SUNY New Paltz had a tanker and pallets of bottled water available to students on Tuesday, and decided to cancel classes through the rest of the week beginning 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The school is mandating that all resident students leave campus from noon Wednesday until at least Sunday. Those who remain on campus will be provided safe drinking water with limited food services, the college said in a statement.

Aqueduct ruled out: NYC DEP

The advisory came days after the Catskill Aqueduct was returned to service. The 95-year-old aqueduct, which supplies water to the village and town of New Paltz, as well as parts of Newburgh, New Windsor and other areas, had been closed for 10 weeks for repairs and cleaning.

Adam Bosch, New York City Department of Environmental Protection spokesman, said the department "has no reason to believe water from the Catskill Aqueduct or Ashokan Reservoir have anything to do with the issue in New Paltz."

He said lab tests of the aqueduct water, in addition to scientist observations, show there is nothing "unusual'" with the water. Bosch added that more than 20 communities north of the city use water from this aqueduct and no others are reporting issues with the water.

"Also, communities connected to the aqueduct north and south of New Paltz are reporting no issues with water from our system," Bosch said. "All these data and bits of information lead us to believe that this is likely a localized issue within New Paltz."

Ryan Santistevan: rsantistev@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4809; Twitter: @NewsByRyan_, Katelyn Cordero: kcordero@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4870; Twitter: @KatelynCordero.