October 11, 2018: The New York State Department of Health recommends that all consumers served by th

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.