Water in New York.
NYC drinks from the unfiltered Catskill/Delaware watershed — among the highest-quality municipal water in the world. Yet upstate communities have severe PFAS contamination (Hoosick Falls, Newburgh) and pre-war housing stock means widespread lead exposure.
Hoosick Falls became the first nationally publicized PFAS contamination event in 2014.
How New York regulates drinking water.
Among the strictest in the U.S. NY MCLs: PFOA 10 ng/L, PFOS 10 ng/L, 1,4-Dioxane 1 ppb. NYC has the largest unfiltered water supply in the U.S. Aggressive watershed-protection regime.
New York State Department of Health — Bureau of Water Supply Protection
New York's water history, in order.
The contamination events, regulatory shifts, and major settlements that define how this state thinks about drinking water today.
- 2014
PFOA contamination identified in Hoosick Falls — the first national PFAS-in-drinking-water story.
- 2016
Newburgh's water supply contaminated by Stewart Air National Guard Base PFAS.
- 2020
NY sets state MCLs for PFOA (10 ng/L), PFOS (10 ng/L), and 1,4-Dioxane (1 ppb).
- 2024
Lead service line inventory deadline triggers replacement push statewide.
The actual water you drink.
The physical rivers, aquifers, lakes, and reservoirs that feed New York's public water systems. Source quality is the foundation of tap quality — and where the long-term protection fights happen.
- reservoirCatskill / Delaware Watershed
NYC unfiltered supply — among the largest unfiltered municipal systems in the world.
- reservoirCroton Watershed
Backup NYC supply.
- lakeLake Erie + Lake Ontario
Western NY upstate.
- riverHudson River
Source-water mix
~75% surface water, ~25% groundwater
Major cities served
New York · Buffalo · Yonkers · Rochester · Syracuse · Albany
Who actually serves the water.
The largest public water systems in New York by population served. Click your ZIP after to see the full live EWG report for your specific utility.
- New York City Department of Environmental ProtectionNew York City· Largest unfiltered municipal water supply in the U.S.Largest unfiltered municipal water supply in the U.S.9,500Kserved
- Erie County Water AuthorityBuffalo metro550Kserved
- Monroe County Water AuthorityRochester metro700Kserved
- Suffolk County Water AuthorityLong Island1,200Kserved
Where the contamination comes from.
Every state has a different industrial fingerprint. The industries below are the dominant historical and active contamination sources in New York's drinking water systems.
Hoosick Falls (Saint-Gobain) was the first nationally publicized PFAS event. Newburgh PFAS contamination from Stewart Air National Guard. Industrial Hudson River corridor drives legacy PCBs (GE remediation). Long Island 1,4-dioxane contamination from industrial sources.
What state data flags most consistently.
Drawn from EPA SDWIS sampling records, EWG state summaries, and regional regulatory action over the past five years. Read the full deep dive on each.
Lead
A neurotoxic metal that leaches from old pipes and solder. No safe level for children.
PFAS (Forever Chemicals)
A class of ~15,000 synthetic chemicals that don't break down. Now regulated for the first time.
Trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
Byproducts of chlorinating water. Linked to bladder cancer at chronic exposure.
Chromium-6 (Hexavalent Chromium)
The Erin Brockovich chemical. A known carcinogen with no federal-specific limit yet.
Risk isn't evenly distributed.
Hoosick Falls and Newburgh residents face the most-documented PFAS exposure in the state. NYC and upstate pre-war housing residents face lead from older service lines.
NYC alone has 134,000+ lead service lines; Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse add another 100,000+.
~10% on private wells, mostly upstate.
What's coming for New York's water.
Catskill watershed flooding events challenge unfiltered supply. Long Island sole-source aquifer saltwater intrusion accelerates. Lake Erie algal bloom risk increases with summer warming.
Statewide mandate
NY Public Health Law 1110 (2016) requires lead testing in all schools. Action level: 15 ppb. Public results.
Five questions for your next Consumer Confidence Report.
Your utility is required to send you a Consumer Confidence Report annually. Most are dense and procedural. These are the questions worth following up on for New York specifically.
- 1
If I'm in Hoosick Falls or surrounding towns, what is my system's current PFOA level vs. NY's 10 ng/L MCL?
- 2
Has my school posted its most recent NY PHL 1110 lead test results?
- 3
If I'm on Long Island, has my well been tested for 1,4-dioxane?
- 4
When is my lead service line scheduled for inventory and replacement?
Most state regulators allow public records requests for the underlying lab reports behind your CCR — your utility should be able to provide them on request.
What's changed in New York water law.
Drinking water regulation moves at the state level as much as the federal level. Below are notable recent bills and regulatory actions specific to New York.
- 2024
Lead Pipe Right to Know Act expansion.
- 2020
NY sets state MCLs for PFOA, PFOS, and 1,4-Dioxane.
- 2016
Public Health Law 1110 — School Lead Testing mandate.
For lead: NSF/ANSI 53. For PFAS upstate: NSF/ANSI P473 or RO. State provides filters in confirmed contamination communities.
We don't recommend brands — the NSF/ANSI certification number matters more than the name on the box.
This is the state. Your address is the answer.
State-level patterns don't tell you about your specific tap. Run your ZIP for the live EWG contaminant report on your utility — or build a personalized Water File for your household.
Source-water mix, utility counts, lead-service-line estimates, and private-well shares are approximate, drawn from EPA SDWIS public data and state primacy-agency summaries. Contaminant rankings reflect EWG state-level monitoring data and regional regulatory action — they are not exhaustive. Timeline events are publicly documented. See methodology for the full sourcing. Search EPA SDWIS for New York