I am writing in response to a recent Guest Commentary by Betty Seiden, Don't Give Me "Liberty", that appeared in the Feb. 26 edition of the Farmingdale Observer. I applauded Ms. Seiden for her apparent concern about the former Liberty Industrial Finishing Corp. property in South Farmingdale. It is the location of a Superfund hazardous waste site that has been of great concern to the South Farmingdale Water District as well.

In fact, the district has repeatedly asked the EPA to conduct the most thorough cleanup possible and has joined forces with the Massapequa Water District in the best interest of our consumers. Currently, samples are being taken regularly from six monitoring wells that were put in place by the two water districts to act as an "early warning system" to prevent contamination of the local drinking water supply.

Seiden says in her commentary that she "believes the carcinogens are leaching into the underground aquifers which supply our drinking water." It is statements such as this that continue to advance the misconception that our tap water is not safe to drink. New York State law requires Long Island's public water suppliers to test their product for 188 hazardous chemicals at a cost of more then $2 million each year. These tests are conducted at modern laboratories that are capable of analyzing parts per billion. That's like finding one penny slug in a pile of one billion pennies. The test results are based on scientific evidence and certainly not skewed by a "gut feeling."

When water doesn't meet exacting government standards, state-of-the-art treatment systems must be utilized to purify the water before it enters the distribution system. Only water that is absolutely clean and safe to drink is provided to our customers. If it were not, we want to be the first to know. The people who work to provide South Farmingdale and Massapequa with its drinking water live here too. We drink the same water. Why would we want to hurt ourselves and our families? Seiden should give that some thought.

The writer also claims that public supply wells in South Farmingdale were shut down in the 1970s because of "organic chemical contamination." To date, the South Farmingdale Water District has never had to take a single well off line because of any such situation. If any well had been removed from the distribution system, the Nassau County Department of Health would have documentation to back that up. I am curious to know where Seiden got her misinformation.

While we encourage our customers to pay attention to what is going on around them, we discourage them from making statements without checking the facts. Anyone who has a question about the product provided by the South Farmingdale Water District or the infrastructure that is used to deliver it to our customers should give us a call. We have nothing to hide.

Board of Commissioners

South Farmingdale Water District

Commissioner Gerard F. McCormack,

Chairman