Cover photo: (Left to right) P.O. McCaffrey, Exec. Romaine, Adrienne Esposito, Min. Ldr. Richberg, and Chairman Lefkowitz raise a toast (Credit: Matt Meduri)
“I’ll drink to that!” was the operating line at Tuesday’s announcement that the Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA) is operating within full compliance of federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards – a full six years before the federal deadline.
All treated water that the SCWA supplies to its approximately 1.2 million customers falls at the enforceable contamination standard of four parts per trillion (PPT) for both PFAS and PFOS – synthetic “forever chemicals” that require significant purification to eliminate. Such chemicals have been used in non-stick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics, food packaging, and firefighting foam, among others. Since these chemicals cannot break down naturally, they’re known to contaminate water for drinking and home use. Long Island has been all too familiar with these health crises, ranging from Forge River in Mastic to the former Grumman sites at Bethpage and Calverton.
The EPA’s enforceable standard of 4 PPT for drinking water was set in April 2024.
However, such chemicals can be treated via the use of granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment systems, 17 of which the SCWA installed in the past year alone. Testing has shown that GAC remediation removes PFAS compounds to non-detecable levels.
“We took aggressive actions based on the science,” said SCWA Chairman Charlie Lefkowitz (pictured above). “We knew that PFAS needed to get out of the water. As of April 2025, every single well [in Suffolk County] is free of PFAS and every single tap is free of PFAS.”
Lefkowitz said much of the success has come from “going after” polluters to hold them “accountable” and those actions still continue today.
“They will pay for the damage they’ve done to our aquifer,” said Lefkowitz, adding that the SCWA “doesn’t wait for the regulators”, instead being proactive in remediating water quality. Much of the efforts have been funded to the tune of $16 million in State grants.
“We [Suffolk County] have world-class beaches, a booming business community, some of the best restaurants in New York, and neighborhoods where you can raise your family. A place that deserves high quality water, and Suffolk County Water Authority is delivering it,” said Lefkowitz.
SCWA CEO Jeff Szabo (pictured above), joined by SCWA Board Members John Rose and John Porchia, called the announcement a “major victory” for Suffolk’s fight against PFAS.
“We began testing for PFAS back in 2013, long before most utilities were even aware of the issue,” said Szabo. “In 2017, I stood with other leaders from New York in personally demanding that the EPA move forward with setting a standard for PFAS. We began installing GAC well before New York State and the EPA enacted drinking water standards. Since 2020, we’ve rolled out more than 25 GAC treatment systems (pictured below), specifically to treat and remove PFAS.”
Szabo says that the SCWA isn’t stopping there. The public benefit corporation is “piloting advanced technologies like resin base treatment, reactivated carbon, and other measures to stay ahead of the science and reduce long-term costs for customers.”
Szabo also thanked the SCWA’s team of engineers who have designed the PFAS treatment systems, the production control staff who keep the systems running, and the laboratory team that persists with “complex” testing requirements.
“Science will continue to improve and regulations at the state and federal level will continue to be set. But the residents of Suffolk County should feel confident that the Suffolk County Water Authority will remain one step ahead of the regulators to make sure drinking water is safe,” said Szabo.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) (pictured above) was heralded by the SCWA as a life-long advocate for the environment during his decades of public service.
“Clean water doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” said Romaine. “The County and the SCWA are part of a national effort to hold the chemical companies that knew what they were doing responsible for this. We are going to make sure that our drinking water and our aquifer remains as pure as possible so that all citizens here in Suffolk can drink with confidence and hold up a glass and feel confident.
Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) (pictured above) was on hand with Minority Leader Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon) and Legislators Catherine Stark (R-Riverhead) and Steve Flotteron (R-Brightwaters).
“Once again, Suffolk County is leading the way,” said McCaffrey. “We understand the value and the importance of providing clean drinking water because as the County Executive often says, ‘we stand on top of the water that we drink.’”
McCaffrey heralded the Legislature’s initiative under leadership of his predecessor, then-Presiding Officer Rob Calarco (D-Patchogue), of holding opioid companies accountable for the damage they have done to Suffolk residents. McCaffrey pledged that the Legislature will act accordingly in holding chemical companies accountable.
“The challenges that we face with a single-source aquifer are going to persist,” said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico (R-Center Moriches) (pictured above). “Those who created firefighting foam did so out of necessity, but the record is clear. Those companies, 3M being one of them, knew full well what those [foams] would do to the environment. Those dangers have played out not only in Suffolk County and Brookhaven Town, but throughout this country. And collectively, all of us are paying the costs in our water bill that we hope to recoup from these companies who did wrong by all of us.”
Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director for the Citizens Campaign for the Environment (pictured below), called PFAS the “greatest environmental and public health challenge of our generation.”
“Sadly, with more research that is done, the more science reveals that the health impacts are more widespread than we originally thought,” said Esposito, adding that PFAS are linked to a wide variety of cancers – such as thyroid, kidney, breast, and testicular – as well as liver disease, immune system program, reproductive health, and development disorders in children, among others.
“Many times, environmentalists go it alone, but here in Suffolk County, we go together with elected officials, with Republicans and Democrats, with the SCWA, and with the public,” said Esposito. “When we take PFAS out of our drinking water supply – the aquifer – we’re also then making our lakes, streams, tributaries, bays, and harbors cleaner and safer for marine life that lives there.”
Executive Romaine referenced a recent study showing that beer made with PFAS-contamined water will possess those same toxins.
“If the beer is made with Suffolk County water, there are no PFAS in it,” said Chairman Lefkowitz. “So, let’s drink up.”
