{"id":7548,"date":"2026-08-27T17:10:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7548"},"modified":"2026-08-27T17:10:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T17:10:37","slug":"the-good-news-and-bad-news-about-nyc-water-post-test-uncovers-whats-bubbling-from-city-hall-fountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7548","title":{"rendered":"The good news and bad news about NYC water: Post test uncovers what\u2019s bubbling from City Hall fountain"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New York City\u2019s water is famously the best tasting in the nation \u2014 but there\u2019s good news and bad news about what\u2019s actually in it.<\/p>\n

Read more Doctor shares PSA after waking up to a bat trying to \u2018burrow\u2019 into her mouth<\/a><\/p>\n

A study from a public fountain at City Hall by The Post found trace levels of lead \u2014 but at the same time found no trace of dangerous plastic \u201cforever chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gulp-sized sample pooled from a drinking fountain in the basement of City Hall in July detected 1.13 parts per billion (ppb) levels of lead \u2014 a percentage of the heavy metal that is roughly equal to a drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.<\/p>\n

Though deceivingly small and legally compliant, any amount of lead is \u201cvery, very bad,\u201d explained Dr. Eric Roy, a water science expert.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have great water. You pipe it in from the Catskills, but unfortunately, as soon as it hits your very old lead pipe infrastructure, it can pick up lead along the way and that\u2019s the uncomfortable reality,\u201d Roy, the Head of Science at Culligan, which tested the water sample.<\/p>\n

While the 1.13 ppb rate falls well below the legal 15 ppb limit that the City of New York has in place \u2014 a cap that will be reduced to match the federal maximum of 10 ppb in 2027 \u2014 Roy argued that it lies way too high for health safety standards.<\/p>\n

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a strict maximum lead limit of 1 ppb, while the EPA\u2019s own maximum contaminant level goal is set at 0 ppb because \u201cthere is no safe level of exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lead exposure results in lower IQ, hyperactivity, cognitive problems, anemia, cardiovascular issues, decreased kidney function, reproductive problems and much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren are more susceptible to lead. Children and people who are looking to have kids. [1.13 ppb] is something that is obviously legal, but if we\u2019re talking to people about lead in the home, we\u2019d start asking questions,\u201d said Roy.<\/p>\n

The lead presence stems from pipes rather than the water source, meaning that neighboring homes could have drastically different contamination levels.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the test found no measurable amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), or \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d which are man-made, industrial toxins often used in plastic manufacturing and are a growing concern in the Empire State.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Letitia James last month sued several manufacturers for allegedly knowingly using harmful PFAS in cosmetics, non-stick cookware and other products that ultimately leak into metro drinking supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tested [the] water for PFAS and [the] sample came back clean, so that\u2019s a good thing,\u201d Roy said about the PFAS findings. But he gave one big caveat for the results when it came to the \u201cforever chemicals.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSampling water is one single point in time. Some of your neighbors \u2014 New York City people \u2014 have come back with some PFAS in their water, but your sample did not at that moment in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Iconic \u2018Transformers\u2019 voice actor Peter Cullen dead at 85<\/a><\/p>\n

Roy warned that each drinking water test, including for lead, is a \u201cmoment in time\u201d and the results don\u2019t indicate that Big Apple water is devoid of forever chemicals \u2014 especially because the drinking water is pulled from 22 sources.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can literally be how much rain fell, because rain can dilute it. Think about putting a drop of food coloring in a bowl \u2014 if that drop of the food coloring is further away from where you\u2019re actually drawing from, the color is lower, non-existent. That\u2019s just kind of one of those things where there\u2019s variability,\u201d said Roy.<\/p>\n

The Big Apple as a whole, however, has a severe lead issue \u2014 with some households in 2025 reporting as much as 155 pbb, pointing to \u201ccorrosion of household plumbing\u201d as the source.<\/p>\n

Buildings and homes that predate the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act, which banned toxic solder from plumbing, are more likely to be seeping lead into the tap water.<\/p>\n

There are approximately 121,100 known lead or galvanized private service lines throughout the city that the city Department of Environmental Protection is in the process of slowly replacing through state funding. Roughly 800 lead service lines have already been replaced.<\/p>\n

But City Hall, like all city-owned buildings, is connected to a non-lead service line, data shows \u2014 making the presence of lead a mystery.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile New York City\u2019s drinking water is delivered lead-free, we know that lead exposure can occur when water passes through privately owned service lines or internal plumbing,\u201d a City Hall spokesperson said. <\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City treats the water supply with a food-grade additive called orthophosphate that creates a protective coating inside the pipes, preventing lead from entering the water.\u00a0New Yorkers who are worried about lead in their drinking water should call 311 to request a free lead test kit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city told The Post that the results aren\u2019t shocking enough to warrant a response, with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services\u00a0emphasizing that a 5-ppb result would trigger action. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis test result of 1.13 ppb of lead is about 9 times lower than the federal action level under the EPA\u2019s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements,\u201d the city DEP added. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDEP continuously monitors the water in the distribution system, upstate reservoirs and feeder streams that are sources for New York City\u2019s drinking water supply.\u201d<\/p>\n

The City Hall water also had high traces of aluminum, copper and zinc, but at levels that only alter the taste and color of the sample.<\/p>\n

The good news is that lead contamination can be eliminated by pipe replacement, while both the toxin and PFAS can be cleaned by at-home filtration systems.<\/p>\n

Read more Chilling 911 audio released after NJ grandpa allegedly crashed boat drunk, killing grandkids<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Post conducted a Culligan water test from a City Hall drinking fountain, which found trace but legal amounts of lead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nThe good news and bad news about NYC water: Post test uncovers what\u2019s bubbling from City Hall fountain - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7548\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The good news and bad news about NYC water: Post test uncovers what\u2019s bubbling from City Hall fountain - 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