ALBANY, N.Y. (October 13, 2018) - The Do Not Drink Advisory for the Village of Rushville's Public Water Supply, including customers in the Middlesex Water District, is discontinued. Samples collected on 10/11/2018 and 10/12/2018 confirmed that the blue-green algae toxin microcystin no longer exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's health advisory level in water delivered to consumers. The water is acceptable for drinking, food preparation and all other household uses.
Testing completed on Friday 10/12 and Saturday 10/13 returned results of less than 0.3 micrograms per liter in finished water, below the EPA's 10-day Health Advisory Level of 0.3 micrograms per liter of microcystins for bottle fed infants and children under 6 years old. Thursday's test results of 0.66 micrograms per liter of microcystins in finished water exceeded that advisory level, but were below the EPA's health advisory level of 1.6 micrograms per liter for individuals not included in that group. Out of an abundance of caution, the state recommended to all consumers that they not consume water and worked with County and Village officials to provide bottled water for the extent of the advisory.
The Village of Rushville's Public Water Supply will continue to work with the NYS Department of Health to monitor the public water supplies. Additional samples will be collected and sent to the Wadsworth Center, the NYSDOH's public health laboratory, for analysis to confirm that microcystin levels consistently remain below the EPA's 10-day health advisory level of 0.3 micrograms per liter for bottle fed infants and children under 6 years old.
Information about blue-green algae and related toxins can be found at www.health.ny.gov/HarmfulAlgae.
People and animals should always take steps to stay away from any blooms in surface waters because contact can make people and animals sick.
Residents with questions or concerns can call the following numbers for assistance: Ontario County (585) 396-4343, Yates County at (315) 536-5160, Village of Rushville (585) 554-3415. Additionally, the New York State Department of Health Geneva District Office can be reached at (315) 789-3030 or the NYSDOH's Bureau of Water Supply Protection at (518) 402-7650.
This afternoon, the New York State Department of Health issued a Do Not Drink advisory for water customers served ONLY by the Village of Rushville's public water supply, including customers in the hamlet of Middlesex water district. The advisory came after a sample that was collected on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 came back with 0.66 ug/L (micrograms per liter) of microcystin in the finished drinking water. Microcystin is a toxin produced by Blue Green Algae. This level is higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 10-day Health Advisory level of 0.3 micrograms per liter of microcystins for bottle fed infants and children under 6 years old. For individuals not included in that group, the EPA's health advisory level is 1.6 micrograms per liter. However, out of an abundance of caution, the state is recommending all consumers of Rushville water do not consume water at this time. Confirmatory samples are being collected and tested at the Wadsworth Center, the NYSDOH's public health laboratory. THIS ADVISORY DOES NOT INCLUDE the other water suppliers from Canandaigua Lake including: CANANDAIGUA, GORHAM, NEWARK AND PALMYRA that serve customers across a wide geographic area. These water suppliers have had their water tested on a regular basis over the last couple weeks for the microcystin toxin and the finished water results have all come back below the detection and advisory limits- documenting that the water from these suppliers is safe to drink. Rushville's water does not serve anyone along the east side of the lake. The DOH will continue their sampling efforts for each of the water suppliers.
Ontario and Yates County Emergency Management, NYS Dept of Health Geneva District, and the Village of Rushville along with other partners are working diligently to provide bottled water to the residents affected by this advisory. For additional information please call NYS DOH at 315 789-3030. Please CLICK HERE to read the press release for full details.
We are continuing to see blue green algae on the lake. For updates on blue green algae on Canandaigua Lake, click HERE.
We will continue to work with our partners at the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association to monitor the lake and provide updates. For more information on the Association's volunteer HABs monitoring program, please click HERE.
