Emerging and unregulated contaminants
Toxic chemicals can harm the health of people, wildlife, aquatic ecosystems
The challenge
As our waters face new and unregulated threats, so does our health and the health of the ecosystem.
For every chemical regulated to protect safe drinking water, there are roughly 1,000 unregulated chemicals in use. Our region’s high population density and industrial history along with ongoing use of risky chemicals in certain industries and consumer products, has led to the release of chemicals into our environment that can be measured in our rivers, groundwater — and even in our blood.
Though the Clean Water Act and New York Environmental Conservation Law regulations limit discharges of a far greater number of chemicals, regulations often lag decades behind scientific evidence showing risks from chemicals to human health or aquatic life. Many pollution discharge permits in New York State often go decades without being updated. And potential harm is typically measured chemical by chemical, without a clear understanding of cumulative risks that likely come from exposure to low levels of multiple contaminants.
Many of these contaminants will become more difficult to manage due to climate change, as temperature, precipitation patterns, changes in soil composition, and other cascading impacts increase the likelihood of exposure.
PFAS
PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are a large group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in a dizzying array of industries and consumer products such as nonstick cookware, grease-resistant food packaging, firefighting foams, and stain-resistant clothing and upholstery. Known as “forever chemicals,” many persist in the environment rather than degrading over time. This means that PFAS can travel throughout waterways without breaking down, and accumulate in the fatty tissues of aquatic species, such as fish, as well as humans. Although often occurring at low concentrations, PFAS in drinking water and consumer products can increase the risk of negative health effects, such as cancer and reproductive health effects. These risks are ongoing and occur over a lifetime.
The years are marching on. There has been data collected and investigations started with new names. Some of that is legitimate — Superfund cleanups take a long time to get all the data you need to do the comprehensive cleanup — but we’re at a stage where we know of some things that should be done and we want to make sure they start to happen to reduce or eliminate the flow of PFAS.
Dan Shapley
Senior Director of Advocacy, Policy and Planning
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)
Harmful Algal Blooms, known as HABs, are actually caused by cyanobacteria (not algae, which is a natural part of freshwater ecosystems). One of the oldest lifeforms on Earth, cyanobacteria can, under certain conditions, overtake a waterbody, creating bright green mats that release toxins into the water. These toxins can cause skin irritation or gastrointestinal symptoms in swimmers and pets, and the more potent toxins can cause permanent neurological damage and even mortality. Dogs are particularly at risk, as they can get a double dose from swimming in contaminated water, and then grooming their fur. Some of these toxins can be difficult to remove from drinking water supplies. While not all HABs have the same triggers, a common recipe includes still, warm water that has an excess of nutrients — often from farm and lawn fertilizers, manure, erosion, and both treated and untreated sewage. As climate change progresses, warmer waters and precipitation extremes increase run-off and the likelihood of sewage releases. Cyanotoxins and the cyanobacteria blooms that create them are not currently regulated in surface and drinking water.
Disinfection byproducts
The first drinking water treatment plant to add chlorine to kill pathogens was in a Hudson River community — Jersey City in 1908. While disinfection has protected millions from illness, chlorine can react with organic matter in drinking water sources to form byproducts that are carcinogenic. Increased water temperatures and precipitation extremes consistent with climate change also contribute to increased disinfection byproduct formation. It is very difficult to remove disinfection byproducts from drinking water once they are formed, so it is critical to control their sources and ensure effective regulation. Though two types of disinfection byproducts are currently regulated in drinking water, other more or equally toxic ones are not.
Road salt
While road salt has been used to reduce driving hazards from snow and ice for nearly a century, its impact on aquatic ecosystems and drinking water quality is an urgent global concern. Already in the Hudson River watershed, many streams are as salty as some of the waters in the tidal estuary, and Riverkeeper research has found that of the 145 upstate water supplies in the Hudson River watershed serving 2.65 million New Yorkers, more than half delivered tap water with sodium levels exceeding state and federal health guidelines. Disadvantaged communities were more likely to have higher sodium tap water, reflecting the environmental justice issues associated with drinking water source protection.
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products
Photo: Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products make their way into our waterways through wastewater. Shampoos, soaps, sunscreens, and other personal care products flow down the drain; we excrete most of the medicines we take; and people often flush unused medicines down the toilet. Our wastewater treatment plants generally don’t remove these chemicals, which have a biological effect. While concentrations of individual pharmaceuticals and personal care products in drinking water tend to be below levels of human health concern, more research is needed to understand health risks associated with exposure to low levels of a large number of these chemicals over a lifetime. The harmful effects on aquatic life — especially on fish reproductive health and coral health and growth — are more well-documented. Alongside partners, Riverkeeper has detected and documented dozens of pharmaceutical compounds and personal care products in the Hudson River watershed.
- Focus areas
- Drinking waterWater qualityHabitat and wildlife
What we're doing
We’re fighting for investment, legislation, and regulation that addresses emerging contaminants in our waterways.
Working to removing forever chemicals from drinking water, forever
Photo: CC, R. Nial Bradshaw
As recent state and federal regulations have come into effect that require increased monitoring and lower limits on the amount of PFAS allowed in drinking water — thanks in part to Riverkeeper’s advocacy — dozens of communities throughout the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys are planning to invest in advanced treatment to remove PFAS.
Riverkeeper also works with community advocates and all levels of government to advocate for remediation of the source of PFAS that contaminated Newburgh’s primary drinking water source, and for the enactment of long-term protection strategies to ensure the city has access to safe water.
Addressing HABs has wider effects
Riverkeeper’s push with a broad coalition to pass the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act in 2015 and the Clean Water Infrastructure Act in 2017 has led to billions of dollars of investment in water quality improvement projects, including community-level wastewater infrastructure and runoff reduction efforts, both of which represent major strategies to address water contamination issues such as HABs.
Riverkeeper worked with community members to found the Wallkill River Watershed Alliance, and together with partners, we have advocated for solutions to the Harmful Algal Blooms that have frequently plagued this large Hudson River tributary. In addition to monitoring conditions and alerting the public when there is risk, Riverkeeper is advocating for the completion of a “pollution diet” known as a total maximum daily load for the river — an enforceable plan under the Clean Water Act that will reduce the impact of excess nutrients that fuel algae. We’re also working to regulate the operation of several hydroelectric dams, which play a role in algal blooms by severely altering river flows.
Updating water quality standards
Though the Clean Water Act and state law require standards to protect rivers, streams, lakes and groundwater from pollutants, in New York State many standards haven’t been updated and reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in decades, and several pollutants known to cause problems are lacking standards. Riverkeeper is advocating for New York State DEC to update the standards that regulate known contaminants including toxic chemicals and common water pollutants like road salt.
More stringent water quality standards are critical for oversight, enforcement, and restoration — preventing pollution of drinking water sources, ensuring our waters are safe for recreation and aquatic life, and reducing nutrients that fuel algal blooms and other water quality problems.
Pushing for state laws and shaping protection programs
Through Riverkeeper’s advocacy, New York has enacted key laws that address specific chemicals, including the state’s historic decision to block fracking, recent bans on neonicotinoid pesticides and coal tar sealants, and the Drug Take Back Program, which ensures that consumers have convenient options to dispose of unused medications at many pharmacies where they were purchased.
Riverkeeper has also advised New York State on the creation of the Drinking Water Source Protection Program, which provides communities with tools to understand and develop protection plans for their drinking water sources.
Monitoring water quality
For years, Riverkeeper has partnered with agencies and university scientists to monitor water quality in the Hudson River estuary and its tributaries in order to understand patterns and sources of various pollutants, including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. Riverkeeper is also working with communities that rely on the Hudson River as a drinking water source, to develop monitoring plans that better assess sources, fate and transport of emerging contaminants.
Updates
Update
March 27, 2025
Identifying New York waters in need of protection
Blog
January 21, 2025
The hidden danger in our waterways: understanding 6PPD-Q
Blog
December 4, 2024
Riverkeeper testifies on "forever chemicals" at NYS Assembly
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