Pleasant Valley board asks county authority to study regional water interconnection amid PFAS worries

The Pleasant Valley Town Board voted to ask the Duchess County Water & Wastewater Authority to study the feasibility of a regional water interconnection from Hyde Park to serve portions of the town.

The board approved the request, Resolution 601, by a 4–1 vote after an extended discussion about water reliability, cost and public‑health concerns tied to per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS/PFOA). Council members Mary Beth Borland, Degan and Rifenberg voted in favor; Supervisor Alrech recorded a nay.

Why it matters: residents and board members described recent, disruptive outages and expressed concern about long‑term drinking‑water safety. During public comment, Marco Hoer said multiple homes on David Drive lost water on May 4 and went without a reliable supply for 45 days, forcing temporary pumping and other emergency measures. That testimony helped focus the board on whether a regional interconnection could improve reliability for residents, businesses and multi‑unit housing.

Board discussion and evidence: several members urged the town to treat the county authority’s effort as a no‑cost information‑gathering step. A council member summarized the authority’s written reply, saying the authority told the board the "Hyde Park regional water treatment plant currently provides safe drinking water that meets all applicable state and federal drinking water standards," and that the authority is evaluating treatment upgrades (including potential granular activated carbon) to address emerging contaminants.

Concerns were raised about PFAS/PFOA. One board member asked whether any level of those contaminants is safe for sensitive groups and noted testing has revealed traces in neighboring systems; other members emphasized the town’s current wells test clean but warned containment could change in the future. The board also discussed alternative options — including connecting to water from other nearby systems — and the potential multi‑year cost and construction timelines for major interconnections.

What the vote does: the resolution formally requests the county authority to evaluate feasibility and to hold stakeholder meetings; it does not commit the town to build the system or to fund any capital work. Several board members stressed they expect stakeholder meetings and summary reports to clarify costs, potential service areas and which customers (residents, businesses, mobile‑home parks, apartments) would be served.

Next steps: board members requested that Delaware Engineering provide a concise summary of prior analyses and a preliminary conceptual report with rough capital and O&M cost estimates before any decision to spend town funds. The authority’s stakeholder meetings will be open to the public and, board members said, webcast when available.

Representative quotes from the meeting: "On May the 4th, 2026, David Drive, multiple households ran out of water...the water was gone in one day and it came back in one day," public commenter Marco Hoer said during the public comment period. "Hyde Park regional water treatment plant currently provides safe drinking water that meets all applicable state and federal drinking water standards," a board member summarized of the authority’s response about treatment and upgrades.

The board will await the authority’s stakeholder process and a shortened engineering summary before deciding on next policy steps.