Ritchie Voices Concerns About Salt Contamination at State Water Quality Hearing

State Senator Patty Ritchie voiced concerns about water contamination caused by road salt at a hearing on water quality held Wednesday in Albany.

During the joint hearing hosted by the Senate and Assembly—which featured a number of witnesses including Commissioners from the New York State Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation—Senator Ritchie pointed out in her district, road salt seeping into drinking water wells has created significant hardships for residents.

“From doing everyday things like bathing and cooking to encouraging the growth of business, a clean water supply is crucial to any municipality and the lives of its residents,” said Senator Ritchie.  

“I appreciate having the opportunity to share concerns regarding water contamination that has affected people in my district, and look forward to continuing to work with partners on the state and local level to ensure all people throughout our region have access to clean water.”

In addition, Senator Ritchie also shared that many municipalities in her district struggle with the high cost of wastewater projects and often times, are not eligible for resources from the state.  In response, Basil Seggos, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, stated the Department would be open to looking into modifications to programs to make more municipalities eligible.

Recently, Senator Ritchie played an instrumental role in bringing nearly $19 million in clean water grants to municipalities struggling with clean water issues throughout Jefferson, Oswego and St. Lawrence Counties, including $3 million awarded to the Town of Orleans, which for decades has struggled with road salt contamination in its water supply, to help bridge the gap in financing a new water system.

(Attn. photo editors: Senator Ritchie is pictured at Wednesday’s hearing in the above photo with Senator Brad Hoylman and Senator Liz Krueger)