PRESTON – Four years after violating federal arsenic standards, Chenango County is finally moving forward this spring to replace the water filtration system at Preston Manor.

It has taken that long to find a viable, reasonably-priced system on the market for the 1880s era, 48-bed facility, according to Department of Social Services Commissioner Bette Osborne. Located on county Route 4, Preston Manor has been the county’s adult home since the early 1970s.

DSS received an official, though non-punative violation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2008 after arsenic levels in the drinking water at the adult home were found to be from 30 to 40 parts per billion. Those levels had been acceptable prior to 2007, but that was before the EPA changed its threshold for arsenic to 10 ppb.

Since that time, the county’s social services and pubic health departments have been working together to mitigate the problem. Commissioner Osborne applied for and received a two-year compliance extension from the EPA.