This week, we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of a tremendous grassroots victory protecting water and the public good in Rockland County, NY. It all began in 2007, when United Water (owned by multinational water corporation Suez, the North American arm of which has now merged into and become Veolia) announced plans for a desalination plant in Rockland County. 

To residents, it quickly became clear that this plan was an expensive and environmentally disastrous boondoggle. Food & Water Watch joined local activists in the Rockland Water Coalition to oppose the project, and over the course of the next eight years, the coalition’s tireless advocacy paid off. 

Today, the coalition is working to address toxic PFAS contamination in Rockland County’s drinking water. As the Trump administration has announced plans to roll back PFAS regulations, the coalition has joined with other environmental organizations to advocate for stricter state drinking water standards and to ban non-essential uses of these toxic chemicals.

During a time of ferocious attacks on clean, affordable water at the federal level, the coalition’s victory against a corporate giant is a reminder of and testament to the power of grassroots activism. Together, we can beat the odds and overcome massive moneyed powers. 

Here’s the story of how the Rockland Water Coalition defeated this corporate desalination proposal.  

Corporate Greed = More Expensive Water

How did plans for a desalination plant arrive in Rockland County? It began when the company, then-called United Water, petitioned the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) for authorization to build a major new water supply source for Rockland, based on water use projections that would later be challenged. 

The PSC rubber-stamped the proposal, and the company developed a proposal to draw and desalinate water from the Hudson River. Residents soon determined this plan was expensive, unnecessary, and even dangerous. Its projected cost ballooned to $150 million.

The plant would not only have raised water rates for residents; it would also have been extremely energy-intensive and wasteful of water. Moreover, it would draw water from an area of the Hudson River, which had long been a dumping ground for industrial polluters. 

Residents were concerned about potential drinking water contamination from PCBs, toxic landfill runoff, and trace amounts of radioactive byproducts from the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant upriver. The plant also posed a major threat to the fragile and important ecosystems in the river’s Haverstraw Bay.

Despite public outcry, the corporation moved forward with the proposal. It was slated to see big returns, as investor-owned utilities profit from new infrastructure. In fact, these private utilities make more money from more expensive projects because their profit is a percentage of how much they invest. 

While proponents of the plant pointed to water needs in Rockland, in 2008, Suez was fined for releasing more water from the reservoir than permitted to its New Jersey customers. At the same time, experts pointed out that the company could have augmented its water supply by repairing its current infrastructure and preventing leaks. These and other water-saving measures were never explored before the water company pressed for desalination.

Building a Winning Coalition to Oppose Desalination

Upon hearing about the desalination proposal, local residents quickly formed the Rockland Water Coalition to stop it. “It was immediately apparent that this wasn’t going to be something one group alone could fight,” said Peggy Kurtz, a coalition cofounder and leader. 

The Rockland Water Coalition brought together lawyers, scientists, organizers, educators, planners, accountants, and artists in this fight. Community members’ extensive research and outreach brought respected regional environmental organizations with their resources and expertise into the coalition. 

Laurie Seeman, another cofounder and leader, remembers the importance of the campaign’s visual elements. “We created a website and a suite of graphics that showed the proposed water intake site’s proximity to the Indian Point nuclear plant, and the harm to Haverstraw Bay, designated irreplaceable by New York State,” she said. “It was really important to have images that people can’t forget and that tell the story in a flash.”

The coalition also took on a variety of tactics to build formidable public support for the campaign. Coalition partner Citizens Campaign for the Environment went door to door to collect and submit 25,000 petition signatures to then-Governor Cuomo. Supporters sent in thousands of public comments to the PSC on the case. Coalition members rallied at one of Cuomo’s public appearances in Rockland to pressure him into opposing the plant. 

At one point, the coalition took elected officials and members on boat trips to show them the river and make the stakes of the environmental impacts and the proximity to Indian Point real to them. “You have to cultivate relationships with elected officials,” Laurie said, “and it takes both time and careful, strategic consideration.”

Partnering with the lead environmental groups of the region and working with their experts won the coalition the backing of a growing number of electeds. With all this support, they even met with the PSC chair and the Governor’s office.

Defeating the Odds in a David vs.Goliath Showdown

Along the way, the Rockland Water Coalition saw just how much the odds were stacked against them. Their opponent was a global water corporation with incredibly deep pockets, which poured tens of millions of dollars into this proposal.

Food & Water Watch was happy to lend resources, research, and ideas to the coalition where we could. We joined press conferences and focused the pressure of the campaign on then-Governor Cuomo, who appointed the Public Service Commissioners.

“Food & Water Watch helped us understand that you need a solid basis in science and policy, but if you don’t also have the political pressure on the right leverage points, you’re never going to get the powers-that-be to listen to you,” Peggy said.

But the most important contributions to this victory came from the tenacious Rockland residents and activists on the ground.

In 2013, the PSC held public hearings in a school auditorium. Peggy recalled stepping out for a moment and seeing the cars pulling up and the people streaming in. “I remember thinking, Look what we were able to do, bring all these people out to speak their minds! More than 1,600 well-informed people came out to these two hearings over the course of two nights. We were there past 1:00 AM both nights as people testified.” 

Finally, years of relentless work brought victory. The PSC found that, just as the coalition had been declaring, there was no immediate need for this hugely expensive project. On December 17, 2015, it officially ordered the company to abandon its desalination proposal. 

Fighting for Rockland’s Water Today

We see again and again the costs of privatized water: lost public control, less accountability and transparency, worse service, decline in infrastructure, and more expensive water. Outrageously, Rockland ratepayers were saddled with a bill for tens of millions of dollars for the desalination proposal, when not a shovel hit the ground. 

But since stopping the desalination plant, the coalition has continued to fight for affordable water, more transparency, and better water stewardship in Rockland County. They’ve fought water rate hikes and advocated for more effective water conservation measures, more effective water infrastructure repairs, better land use planning, and more. 

The coalition continues to bring the research and petition state political power to hold the PSC accountable. And now, they’re organizing for clean water in Rockland and for PFAS protections statewide.

The story of Rockland’s victory is a model for how we can rise up for the public good against corporations across the country. Rockland Water Coalition affirms the power of years of dedication, a strong coalition, winning strategies, and, most importantly, community. When people stay informed, join forces with their neighbors, and are committed to defending and strengthening their communities, they can win against all odds.

Along with co-founding the Rockland Water Coalition, Peggy Kurtz is a member of the Executive Committee of Sierra Club Lower Hudson Group, and Laurie Seeman is the founding director of Strawtown Studio. Thank you to Peggy, Laurie, and everyone in the coalition for their passionate and important work for Rockland’s waterways, environment, and communities.