Report Claims Contamination Evidence Was Deleted

Did New York City officials fail to report evidence of water contamination?

“Inspectors reported contamination in water tanks. NYCHA had it erased,” according to City & State New York.

The problem reportedly resides within water towers at public housing buildings.

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) failed to submit evidence of tainted water to city health officials, City & State New York reported. Housing inspectors had documented the alleged contamination in roof tank inspection reports, but the authority failed to respond effectively, the report stated.

“The details are there in the field reports, but they’re gone in the health reports,” according to the report.

The evidence for a potential drinking water threat was significant.

“Inside a stack of hundreds of internal NYCHA documents, vivid details of contamination leap off dozens of pages – dead birds and squirrels, flying insects, and things floating and growing inside NYCHA’s many damaged wooden drinking water tanks. But the documents also show that evidence of potentially hazardous conditions in its water tanks was blotted out using white-out under a recent policy change that appears to have had a chilling effect. Some tank inspectors say they don’t even write down the dirty details anymore,” the report stated.

“According to the Environmental Protection Agency, dead animals in drinking water can carry microbial pathogens, which can cause waterborne diseases,” New York Amsterdam News reported.

NYCHA weighed in on the allegations.

“NYCHA will update its current Annual Roof Tank Inspection Report to reflect the current condition of the tank at the time of the inspection and any corrective action taken will be noted in the report,” a spokesperson said. “We are working to address our repair process to ensure expediency.”

“While our water tank cleaning and inspections are reliable, we will review the filing of our inspection forms to ensure they reflect this effort accurately,” the spokesperson added.

NYCHA has acknowledged mismanagement issues in the past.

“Battered by scandal and facing looming federal oversight, the city Housing Authority on tried to come clean — by revealing a laundry list of many other rules it’s failed to follow beyond lead paint and mold,” The New York Daily News reported in July.