Ulster County Executive Backs State Findings on Hudson Valley Water Company Failures

Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger is endorsing a state investigation that found Hudson Valley Water Company repeatedly failed to provide safe and reliable drinking water to hundreds of residents across four Ulster County towns.

Metzger issued formal comments this week in response to a Department of Public Service staff report that documents years of service breakdowns and regulatory violations by the private water provider. The report, which covers the period from 2021 through 2025, calls for the appointment of a temporary operator to take over the troubled systems.

State investigators concluded that Hudson Valley Water Company is “unwilling or unable” to deliver safe, adequate, and reliable service to its roughly 435 customers in Hurley, Olive, Rosendale, and Saugerties. Among the findings are repeated arsenic filtration failures in 2023 and 2025, poor communication with customers, failure to notify residents of “Do Not Drink” orders, and ongoing noncompliance with Public Service Commission directives.

Metzger said the findings confirm longstanding concerns raised by county health officials and residents.

“HVWC has demonstrated a profound disregard for its customers and their health and safety… The company and its operator have ignored known infrastructure failures, disregarded Commission orders, disregarded the guidance of the Ulster County Department of Health, failed to plan for predictable risks, and failed to notify all customers of system failures and unsafe drinking water, jeopardizing their health… Allowing residents to unknowingly drink arsenic-contaminated water shows a callous disregard for people’s health and safety.”

The county executive said Ulster County fully supports the DPS recommendation that the Public Service Commission appoint a temporary operator to manage all five Hudson Valley Water Company systems while a long-term solution is pursued. She also urged state regulators to apply acquisition incentives to encourage the transfer of the systems to a more capable and responsible operator.

In her written response to the Commission, Metzger emphasized the public health stakes.

“Water is life, and poor service puts our residents’ health and well-being at risk,” she wrote. “We need a lasting solution that ensures safe, reliable water service for our communities, and I look forward to working with the Towns of Olive, Hurley, Rosendale, and Saugerties to explore options that will protect the drinking water supply of their residents for the long term.”

Metzger also thanked the Ulster County Department of Health and DPS staff, noting that both agencies repeatedly intervened to protect residents when the water company failed to act.

The Department of Public Service report now goes before the Public Service Commission, which will decide whether to appoint a temporary operator and how to proceed with enforcement and potential ownership changes.

Metzger’s full comments to the Commission are available on the Ulster County website. The complete 2025 Staff Report on Hudson Valley Water Companies, Inc. is also publicly available online.

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