What's in the water?
Lynbrook, Malverne residents boiling mad over brown water deposits
The basement of the Malverne Public Library was packed on Feb. 10 with about 150 people from the village and neighboring communities — including Lynbrook — who have had enough of the rust-colored water that flows from their faucets. They gathered to discuss the worsening problem with Bill Varley, president of the water supplier Long Island American Water.
“The residue in my bathtub and shower is disgusting,” said Joanne Huffine, a 12-year resident of Lynbrook. “We [don’t drink] the tap water because of the brown tint, and [we] spend a lot of money purchasing five-gallon Poland Spring jugs for our industrial water machine in the kitchen. We pay for our water and should expect it to be clean and safe.”
Although it was intended purely as a question-and-answer session with Varley, the meeting grew heated at times, as angry residents vented their frustration and shouted accusations and complaints across the room. They demanded answers and a resolution, refusing to back down even after Varley attempted to provide explanations.
The meeting was organized by the Malverne Civic Association with the help of past President Tom Grech, who got the ball rolling on the issue two weeks ago when he started a Facebook group focusing on the problem.
Grech opened the meeting by thanking LIAW for being civic-minded and Varley for agreeing to answer residents’ questions, but he assured him that residents would not back down until the problem was resolved.
Attendees, who also came from West Hempstead and North Lynbrook, complained that in addition to turning their water brown, the iron in the water has stained appliances and ruined clothing.
Despite repeated assurances from Varley that iron is not a health hazard, residents expressed concern for their health and safety. “At ground zero, the government said that the air was safe to breathe,” shouted one resident, “and guys are dying today. That was 10 years ago.”
Eileen D’Amore of Malverne said she worried about the effects of iron on young children. “I have a 1-year-old child,” she told Varley, “and these tests that you say are so safe — were those done on infants [whose] brains and bodies are developing?”
