On November 21, 2025, there was a story on News 12 regarding lead service lines and we want to make sure residents of the Plainview-Old Bethpage community understand that there has been no lead found in customer-owned service lines. For more than a year, the Plainview Water District has researched our historical documents and conducted physical inspections and home visits to complete the Environmental Protection Agency and New York State’s required inventory of service line materials. There have been no customer-owned lead service lines identified in our service territory. We are also proud that our aggressive approach to certifying our findings to the health department allowed us to be one of the first water providers in the state to submit their records. 

“Testing hydrants is a vital component of our overall maintenance program to ensure that this infrastructure is operational and available on demand when needed by fire departments and other emergency personnel,” said PWD Board Chairman Marc Laykind. “This routine operation is a major responsibility of ours to protect and preserve the health and safety of the community.”

During this annual maintenance—that is expected to continue through September 2024—the District will operate each hydrant District-wide. These tests are performed by briefly opening up the hydrants to check that adequate flow and pressure is available throughout the District’s service territory.

While the hydrant maintenance is being performed, residents in the immediate vicinity of the work may experience temporary discoloration of their water. If you experience discoloration in your water after crews have been testing hydrants in your neighborhood, it is best to run your cold water tap at the lowest point of your home for approximately two minutes or until it clears up.

If residents should have any questions about the hydrant testing program, they are encouraged to call our customer service representatives at 516-931-6469 between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm Monday – Friday.

When maintenance is being performed residents in the immediate vicinity of the work may experience temporary discoloration of their water. This discoloration primarily consists of harmless rust particles and does not affect the safety of the water. If you experience discoloration in your water after crews have been testing hydrants in your neighborhood, it is best to run your cold water tap at the lowest point of your home for 2 minutes or until it clears up.

Questions about hydrant testing can be directed to our customer service representatives by calling 516-931-6469 between the hours of 8am and 4pm Monday – Friday.

Since the water being supplied to homes and buildings is essentially free of these contaminants as confirmed by our routine sampling, when a sample taken within a structure/facility shows elevated levels of lead and/or copper, the source of the lead/copper is interior plumbing or fixtures. Lead was a common material used in plumbing systems and fixtures in older buildings. In fact, to a lesser degree, there are still some plumbing fixtures that are manufactured today with a small amount of lead in them, which can result in positive “first draw” samples.

Water providers do not have any jurisdiction of the plumbing systems or fixtures inside of a home, business, or other buildings. However, to help get a better understanding of the presence of lead and copper in the interior plumbing systems and buildings, the District conducts lead and copper sampling in accordance with the EPA’s regulation known as the lead and copper rule. All water districts across the nation conduct lead and copper sampling in accordance with EPA guidelines.

The Health Department limits are set for lead and copper, and District water laboratory results are as follows:

Lead:

• Health Department maximum allowable Limit= 15 parts per billion (ppb).
• Plainview Water District results have been less than 1.0 ppb or non-detectable.

Copper:

• Health Department maximum allowable Limit= 1.3 parts per million (ppm).
• Plainview Water District results have shown a maximum level of 0.0044 ppm.

Foremost, we hope that everyone is staying safe and abiding by all health recommendations from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. While this COVID-19 outbreak has changed much of our daily lives, it will not hinder our unbreakable spirit to better serve the communities we love.

Responsible for delivering high-quality drinking water to more than 3.5 million residents in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the membership of both the Long Island Water Conference (LIWC) and Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners Association (NSWCA) reassures every Long Islander that your drinking water is and will remain unaffected by the COVID-19 outbreak. There is no need to be stocking up and hoarding bottled water.

Aside from standard treatment measures that would inactivate the virus (there are no known COVID-19 detections in any water source throughout the globe), our organizations have worked in lockstep with one another to quickly put in place necessary precautions to promote the health and safety of our residents and employees. Water providers across Long Island implemented temporary policies that closed public facing facilities and restricted the entry of employees to a resident’s home for anything other than an absolute emergency. We rearranged work schedules to better promote social distancing and have isolated key water plant operators to the greatest extent possible. The communication within our industry has been constant since the start of the outbreak to ensure that every water supplier has the personnel, equipment and supplies to see them through this situation now and into the future.

Like doctors, nurses, EMS personnel, police officers and firefighters, employees of water providers are essential and we do not have the luxury of staying away from the field. Regardless of the situation, well pumps and treatment facilities need to be checked daily, water samples from the distribution systems are routinely gathered to ensure quality and water main breaks must be fixed expeditiously to minimize service impacts. Regardless of what stops in the world around us, we must continue marching as every single person relies on us completing our daily tasks.

To the men and women of the water industry who continue to show up regardless of the situation and provide Long Islanders the stability of an uninterrupted supply of water in these uncertain times, thank you. Your efforts, professionalism and dedication to the invaluable roll you play in our society is very much appreciated. Time and time again you have proven that there is no situation or emergency we aren’t prepared to handle.

Sincerely,

Richard Passariello, Chairman, Long Island Water Conference

William Schuckmann, Chairman, Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners Association

Please be advised the payment drop box immediately outside of the entry door is available for you to remit payment. We encourage you to utilize other methods of payment such as postal mail, online payments, or enrolling in automatic bill payments.

Please feel free to contact us at 516-931-6469 if you have any questions.

We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is expected to regulate 1,4-dioxane in the near future. The PWD has been planning for treatment ahead of regulations. The Drinking Water Council, appointed by the Governor Cuomo, recommended a maximum level of 1 part-per-billion for 1,4-dioxane and the NYSDOH Commissioner accepted those recommendations. Since this is a new treatment process, pilot studies are required by State and Local Health Departments at each individual water plant site and the District has completed four such pilots at water plants in recent months.  The District agrees with the need for treatment and the District has urged NYSDOH for the time needed to build effective treatment. The District is also involved in litigation to hold polluters responsible for costs incurred for these projects.

This $25.8 million dollar bond is necessary now to provide the PWD with funding that will enable us continue to deliver the highest quality of water to all of our customers.

Please be advised that your drinking water is not in any way affected as a result of these actions. A fact sheet with additional information has been provided by the NYSDEC. If you have specific questions about this work or would like to know more about the monitoring wells, please contact the NYSDEC at 518-402-9621. Should any resident have additional questions, Residents are always welcome to contact the Plainview Water District at 516-931-6469 for additional information.

NYSDEC FACT SHEET FOR 131 SUNNYSIDE BLVD. SUPERFUND SITE. Click here

The Plainview Volunteer Fire Department does an excellent job of protecting the lives and homes of our residents. We must all keep in mind that fire hydrant accessibility is a primary factor in fighting fires successfully. That’s why Plainview Water District Commissioners Marc Laykind, Andrew Bader and Amanda Field would like to remind homeowners and local businesses to make sure they keep areas surrounding fire hydrants clear so the fire department can connect its equipment without delay.

For your own protection and the protection of those you care about, the Plainview Water District urges you to keep this responsibility in mind; please remember when colder weather approaches to remove any snow that surrounds fire hydrants in front of your property. It is not only an important way to help our everyday heroes, but people’s lives may depend on it.

The Plainvew Water District Board of Commissioners would like to thank its residents in advance for adhering to the Chairman’s suggestion.