New Windsor Town Board approved the contract between the town and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to continue to receive funding for and continued provision of drinking water. This will continue until a permanent solution for the PFAS [Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] contamination at the Butterhill Wells is found.

“This is where the state has agreed to pay our water cost to the City of New York through May of 2023,” Meyers said. “I’d just like to acknowledge Dave Zagon’s work in keeping this payment going until we can resolve this issue with the lawsuits that we have pending against the state and the federal government.”

The PFAS contamination was a result of the firefighting foam used at Stewart Air National Guard Base that was detected in the town’s drinking water in 2019. The same chemicals were detected in Washington Lake, which served as the main source of drinking water for the City of Newburgh.

The base was identified as the source of contamination according to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDH). These chemicals are used in the creation of heat, oil, stain, grease and water resistant products and fluoropolymer coatings.