Village of Hoosick Falls Emergency PFOA Detection
LaBella and NSYDEC Join Forces to Provide Clean Drinking Water to Village Residents
The Village of Hoosick Falls in Rensselaer County, New York, detected levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the water filtration plant and private wells in and around the Village. After sampling results indicated levels of PFOA above health advisory limits, LaBella was commissioned by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to help address the PFOA water contamination crisis in the Village of Hoosick Falls.
LaBella helped NYSDEC’s Environmental Conservation Officers test discarded material, soil, and other environmental samples in the investigation of the PFOA sources affecting the drinking water. Our team also assisted with the design, fabrication, and installation of point-of-entry treatment (POET) systems to remediate PFOA from private drinking water wells in and around the Village of Hoosick Falls.
After the evaluation of nearly 500 homes to determine the location and gather installation details for the POET systems, as well as to answer any questions or concerns the homeowners may have had, LaBella began acquiring components and installing the POET systems. Each system consisted of anthracite coal-based granular activated carbon units, ultraviolet lights, sampling ports, sediment filters, water meters, and optional water softeners.
Our engineers sourced the major components directly from the manufactures, thereby decreasing the lead time to have the systems operational. Additionally, we designed and constructed a multi-vessel hydration and backwash system that was used to prepare the vessels in advance of deployment, which dramatically reduced technician field time and shortened the time to have the systems operational.
Over a period of 6 months, 500 POET systems were installed by several two-person LaBella installation teams along with the assistance of certified local electricians and plumbers. Following this, LaBella personnel participated in a briefing to Andrew Cuomo (Governor of New York State at the time) on the deployment of the POET systems. LaBella takes great pride in being able to address these water issues in order to ensure people have clean drinking water.
