WTC Gonzalez log sheet, November 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

NEWSDAY

Bethpage, that's good water

BY CARL MACGOWAN Newsday Staff Writer

August 25, 2006

Raise a glass of humble tap water, Bethpage residents: You may well be sipping the H2O adjudged this year as New York State's best-tasting.

Water from Bethpage and Blue Lake, in upstate Warwick, will vie for top tap honors next week at the New York State Fair in Syracuse in the contest sponsored annually by the New York chapter of the American Water Works Association, an industry group.

The two were selected yesterday by more than 100 water connoisseurs for the day lined up outside the American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side. The taste-testers, selected randomly as they strolled the sidewalk, also judged samples from South Huntington, New York City and Croton-on-Hudson.

Manoj Ajmera, the contest's founder and organizer, said New York City's water placed third, but "very close to second place."

The 20-year-old contest is held to develop greater appreciation for tap water. Ajmera, a retired employee of the state Department of Health, said 125 people took the blind taste test.

"It was a continuous line," he said. "The museum is a good place. We get a lot of out-of-towners."

Officials with the Bethpage and South Huntington districts could not be reached for comment last night.

Ian Michaels, a spokesman for the city's Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the city's drinking water supply, noted that the city's entry fell short by a mere four votes.

"We would like to win," Michaels said, "but city residents know that we continue to have outstanding water and people around the world praise our water."

NEW YORK TIMES

August 25, 2006

E.P.A. Whistle-Blower Says U.S. Hid 9/11 Dust Danger By ANTHONY DePALMA A senior scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency has accused the agency of relying on misleading data about the health hazards of World Trade Center dust. The scientist, who has been sharply critical of the agency in the past, claimed in a letter to members of the New York Congressional delegation this week that test reports in 2002 and 2003 distorted the alkalinity, or pH level.

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