Albany Times Union (Sunday): “What’s in Colonie’s drinking water?”

There was a great letter to the editor in this weekend’s Albany Times Union:

What’s in Colonie’s drinking water?
Albany Times Union (Sunday)
27 Jul 2025

Although it is illegal to discharge landfill leachate directly into waterways, state law allows this poisonous concoction to be piped through municipal sewer systems and then into waterbodies, including the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. There are financial incentives for towns to accept this poisonous waste, including disposal fees that the landfill pays.

Most Colonie and Cohoes residents obtain their household water from the Mohawk. We’d like to know what’s in our drinking water.

Luckily, the state Environmental Facilities Corporation offers grants to determine whether leachate poses a danger to our primary water supply and, if so, to fund a remedy.

In February, our good-government organization, SAVE Colonie: A Partnership for Planning, brought this issue to the attention of Colonie Supervisor Peter Crummey and the Town Board by letter and by in-person public comment at the Feb. 13 board meeting. We also provided information about the EFC grants program. We suggested the town urge the state to eliminate this leachate loophole.

Since then, the silence from our elected officials has been deafening.

Over the past two years, there have been several townwide boil-water advisories and numerous water main breaks due to aging infrastructure. As summer advances, lower Mohawk water levels concentrate pollution, making water safety more concerning.

On behalf of Colonie residents, we ask our government to provide accurate, detailed data on the chemical content of our primary water supply and outline its plans to provide safe water if the Mohawk.

Fred Pfeiffer
Albany