The Calverton community is demanding clean water from Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Local leaders held a rally in Manorville to get the message out.
“The community has been fighting for three years to get clean drinking water,” said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign. “The state has ignored this community, and it's time for that to stop. We’re calling on Gov. Hochul to make sure the community gets a grant to hook up to public water.”
“We believe that the Navy Grumman plume over in Calverton has really contributed to the groundwater problems here,” she said.
Manorville resident Kelly Mcclinchey is one of many concerned community members.
“We’re still washing our clothes, we’re still washing our dishes. We’re still using this water and we really don’t know what’s in our wells,” she said.
Calverton resident Claire Bennet has been dealing with the water issues for years.
“In 2016, it was discovered in my well water that I had 100 times the acceptable level of MtBE, which is a gasoline additive from the jets that they flew up the street here at Calverton. Since then, I’ve had isopropyl benzene, benzene, acetone, and also PFA chemicals as well. As time goes by, more and more stuff is showing up,” she said.