Our water quality and testing

We are bound by rigorous standards from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, we are committed to working with local environmental partners and conservation groups to be fully transparent about what we are discharging into the waters. This indicator is an easy-to-understand visual of the effluent quality being produced on a daily basis. However, it takes up to five days to receive results from some of the required testing. You can check out a video  that shows just what goes in to our monitoring and testing process to ensure we are meeting—or exceeding—these rigorous standards and protecting the public.

The majority of testing conducted at our facilities falls into two categories: water quality and effectiveness of disinfection. Total Suspended Solids (TSS) determines how much particulate matter is suspended in the sample. We are required to remove at least 85% of the solids which come into the plant daily and remove a maximum average of 30 mg/L for the month. We test disinfection by seeing what the population of certain indicator bacteria are in the effluent at least once daily. If their population is low, as determined through statistical analysis, it may be inferred that disinfection is functioning adequately.