Village of Goshen boil water advisory lifted Aug. 28

The Village of Goshen’s boil water notice was lifted Wednesday, Aug. 28.

The boil water advisory went into effect Saturday, Aug. 24 due to high levels of turbidity in Village of Goshen water. The allowable turbidity standard is 1 unit. Samples taken on Saturday showed turbidity levels of 2.3 units.

Village of Goshen Mayor Molly O’Donnell said a power outage at the water treatment plant last week was the cause.

While the advisory was in effect, Village of Goshen businesses and residents had to boil water used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and preparing food. The village police department provided bottled water to residents in need.

The village’s original notice said high levels of turbidity “can interfere with disinfection, allow harmful microbes to grow, and may indicate the presence of harmful microbes, including bacteria, viruses and parasites. These can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms and may pose a special health risk for infants, some elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.”

In an email to The Chronicle, O’Donnell said that turbidity levels “have been within the allowable limits since the evening hours of Saturday, Aug. 24.”

However, samples of village water needed to show “normal” levels for two consecutive days, tested 24 hours apart, for the boil water advisory to be lifted. Monday and Tuesday’s samples were “normal and absent of any bacteria.” Tuesday’s results were not available until Wednesday afternoon.

The original notice and all updates have been distributed by the village via its Facebook page (facebook.com/Villageofgoshenny) and the Go Goshen app.

Watered down communication

Throughout the advisory, residents expressed frustration and dissatisfaction over the village’s communication strategy.

“I have received this notification through Go Goshen and on Facebook as a person with a smartphone. Many in our village do not have access to this. I received several voicemails last fall for the fall festival — maybe this urgent notice about something that could impact residents’ health should be sent as a voicemail,” a resident commented under the village’s initial notice posted to Facebook.

“There should have been physical signs posted in the village,” commented resident Sarah Morgano in response to the village’s Monday Facebook update that the advisory was still in effect. “If there is an app that folks need to have for this, you need to do a better job of letting residents know of this. Very disappointed in the lack of communication, I only found out on day two.”

Upon finding out about the notice a day late, “I wrote a note to my neighbors notifying them of the water boil and they had no idea before that,” Morgano told The Chronicle.

In an email to The Chronicle, O’Donnell said the village was “in contact with our seniors and elderly population,” throughout the boil water advisory.

She also noted that, in addition to updating the app and posting on Facebook, a notice about the boil water advisory was posted on the BOCES and Goshen School District electric signage, and on Orange County’s social media pages.

“We understand residents may be frustrated with the means of communication and we are working diligently to improve our outreach efforts for the future,” O’Donnell said.

Coffee chains closed

The Village of Goshen Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts temporarily closed between Saturday and Wednesday. Signs posted on Starbucks’ door and inside Dunkin’ Donuts stated they closed due to the boil water notice.

Other village restaurants remained open, including but not limited to: Sunflower Cafe, Goshen Chinese Kitchen, the Goshen Diner, and Brew-Goshen.

To combat the water issues, Brew purchased bagged ice for all drinks and served bottled water and canned soda. The local gastropub also informed diners that dishes and glassware were cleaned and sanitized in a high-temperature commercial dishwasher.

Tell your neighbors

In the Go Goshen message about the boil water advisory being lifted, the village said the advisory was placed “out of an abundance of caution.”

As it did in earlier updates about the advisory, the village again asked residents to “be sure to share this information with those that live and work in the Village.”

”The Village of Goshen would like to thank everyone for your patience and understanding during this time.”