Editor's note: This story has been updated to include details from a recent Drinking Water Quality Council meeting in which it was revealed that New York officials told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that nearly 550 public water systems in the state contain PFAS.
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Tony Schillo walks in front of his home while taking his daughter, Vivian, 3, out for some fresh air at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. Residents of the park have been plagued with water that contains elevated levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" and bring in their own bottled water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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Tony Schillo sits with his daughter, Vivian, 3, among bags of water bottles to be recycled at the family mobile home at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. Schillo and other residents of the park have been plagued with water that contains elevated levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" and bring in their own bottled water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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PFAS have been found in the water that millions of New Yorkers rely on for drinking water. Lookup the levels of PFAS chemicals in your drinking water system here.
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Tony Schillo does the dishes at the family's mobile home at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. The Schillos reluctantly use the tap water for dishes, clothes washing, and bathing but only consume and cook with bottled water. Residents of the park are dealing with heightened PFAS "forever chemicals" levels in their tap water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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The drinking water systems that serve more than 3.2 million New Yorkers rely on the water from rivers, lakes and streams that, before it’s treated, contains unsafe levels of the so-called “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. High levels of exposure to these chemicals have been linked to health problems such as cancer. But only some of the hundreds of affected drinking water systems across New York are actually required to treat their water. Leaving an untold number of New Yorkers subjected - sometimes unknowingly - to elevated PFAS levels in their tap water.
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Tony Schillo and his daughter, Vivian, 3, walk near septic waste water caps that occasionally overflow onto the ground with raw sewage near the Schillo home at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. Residents of the park have been plagued with water that contains elevated levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" and bring in their own bottled water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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Tony Schillo helps his daughter, Vivian, 3, brush her teeth using bottled water at their mobile home at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. Residents of the park have been plagued with failed water quality tests and bring in their own bottled water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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Environmental advocates say the cost is worth it to protect people from PFAS chemicals, which are likely human carcinogens and have been linked to cancers, organ damage and reproductive issues.
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Mobile home at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. Residents of the park have been plagued with water that contains elevated levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" and bring in their own bottled water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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Tony Schillo does the dishes with the help of his daughter, Vivian,3, at their mobile home at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. The Schillos reluctantly use the tap water for dishes, clothes washing, and bathing but only consume and cook with bottled water, due to heightened PFAS levels.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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Tony Schillo gathers bags of water bottles to be recycled at his mobile home at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. Schillo and other rsidents of the park have been plagued with water that contains elevated levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" and bring in their own bottled water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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Solutions range in cost from relatively cheap water filters to filtration systems at a price of several hundred dollars.
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Tony Schillo's daughter, plays around the house at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. Residents of the park have been plagued with water that contains elevated levels of PFAS "forever chemicals" and bring in their own bottled water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
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Tony Schillo does the dishes with the help of his daughter, Vivian,3, at their mobile home at the Rolling Hills Manufactured Home Park in Elbridge, New York. The Shillos reluctantly use the tap water for dishes, clothes washing, and bathing but only consume and cook with bottled water due to PFAS contamination in their tap water.
KEVIN RIVOLI
Hayleigh Colombo is a member of the Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Team.
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