On Wednesday morning, Dec. 30, the Essex County Sheriff’s Department and North Elba Highway Department teamed up to move four pallets of water jugs from the sheriff’s trailer to the Essex County Highway Department in Lewis, where WIC employees and volunteers will pick up water and deliver it to families around the county.

Borzilleri has donated leftover food and water after the triathlon every year, Berger said. Though there was no race this year, he still had supplies.

“Since it’s been so long, and since it’s Christmas time and the pandemic … it’s good to give that stuff away,” Borzilleri said.

Berger said the need for water is very high right now.

WIC assists families that qualify for social services, but also for people who do not quite meet that requirement.

“It’s those people who are working two jobs but are kind of still on the edge of being one paycheck away from not doing well,” Berger said.

She said WIC provides services to pregnant women and new moms, children up to the age of 5 and families caring for foster children. The program assists around 700 families right now, Berger said.

She said families in Ticonderoga are struggling with bad water quality.

Lake Placid, where she lives, has good water, she said, and she feels lucky because of that. She knows families all over do not have that same good fortune.

She said the water will be used for mixing baby formula, so parents have clean water to feed their newborns if their tap or well water is not healthy enough.

Berger said this water may also be shared with the county Office for the Aging.