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Fact check: Polio detected in New York City sewage, not tap water

Dezimey Kum   | Paste BN

The claim: Polio was found in New York City tap water

After a case of polio was reported by New York state health officials in July, social media users began claiming that the virus was discovered in New York City tap water.

The claims focus primarily around Mayor Eric Adams, who in July urged New Yorkers to drink the city’s tap water in a promotional video posted on his official Twitter and TikTok accounts.

“Do you remember that time when Mayor Adam’s told everyone in New York City to drink the tap water?" reads a screenshot of a tweet that was shared on Instagram on Aug. 12. "Anyways, they found Polio in the New York City Water.”

The post generated over 1,000 likes within a week. A now-deleted Aug.13 Instagram post also shared the screenshot, which garnered over 100,000 likes.

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However, the virus was not found in tap water. It was detected in sewage samples through wastewater testing.

Tap water travels through a separate system that does not come in contact with sewage, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health told Paste BN, and this separation does not allow for such contamination. 

Paste BN reached out to the Instagram user who shared the claim for comment.

Polio detected in wastewater 

The New York State Health Department and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced on Aug. 12 that the polio virus had been detected in the city's wastewater, indicating the virus may be circulating locally. 

"New Yorkers should know that wastewater is not the same as drinking water," Samantha Fuld, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health, told Paste BN in an email. "Wastewater collected in sewer systems cannot be a source of infection or transmission for the general public."

Wastewater goes to a community wastewater treatment plant, whereas drinking water comes from a water system that sewage does not interact with, Fuld explained. The two systems are entirely separate.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, polio is "mainly spread by person-to-person contact." It can also be transmitted by "eating raw or undercooked food" or by consuming drinks that are contaminated with "the feces of an infected person."

New York City's drinking water is considered to be of "excellent quality," and it is disinfected with chlorine and ultraviolet light to promote safe consumption, according to the city’s 2021 Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report.

"Drinking water is regularly tested to make sure that levels for more than 100 different contaminants meet strict drinking water standards before they reach New Yorkers’ tap," Fuld said.

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The state health department began testing wastewater for polio after the first confirmed U.S. polio case in nearly a decade was reported in Rockland County on July 21.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that polio was found in New York City tap water. Polio was detected in sewage samples as part of water surveillance. There are separate systems for waste water and tap water, and this separation does not allow for such tap water contamination, according to a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health.

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