TRENTON, NJ, August 28, 2008 (Water Tech) — One in eight private wells in New Jersey is contaminated, violating at least one limit for drinking water contaminants, according to a recently released New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) report, the Asbury Park Press reported on August 28.

According to the DEP report, which is based on data gathered during real estate transactions or by landlords between September 2002 and April 2007, water samples were taken from 51,028 private wells tested under the Private Well Testing Act of 2001.

Bill Wolfe, head of the nonprofit advocacy group New Jersey Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said in the article that, based on the 12.5 percent violation rate, most people who have not sold their homes probably have not had their wells tested and should do so.

The Asbury Park Press reported that New Jersey has an estimated 400,000 private wells used for drinking water. Statewide, a total of 6,369 private wells exceeded one or more of the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for Safe Drinking Water Act primary drinking water contaminants linked to health concerns. The contaminants include arsenic, mercury, nitrate, total coliform and fecal coliform, gross alpha particle activity (a measure of radioactivity) and volatile organic chemicals, according to the report.

Other data from the report indicated that one well exceeded six limits, three wells exceeded five limits, and three wells exceeded four limits.

EPHRATA, WA, August 29, 2008 (Water Tech) — Investigators have identified the mysterious goo, which has been leaking from more than 2,000, 55-gallon barrels into groundwater at the unlined Ephrata landfill, as industrial paint solvents and sludge, medical waste and radioactive materials, according to an August 28 article in The Wenatchee World.

The last of the barrels were removed this month and have been shipped to disposal facilities in Utah and Arkansas. They were buried in the landfill in 1975, according to the article.

Although it is still not known how extensively the groundwater has been contaminated, aquifers under the dump have tested positive for high levels of organic compounds, metals, petroleum products, solvents, pesticides and other chemicals after state-mandated testing began monitoring groundwater in 1988. Officials believed the barrels were the source of the contamination but could find no record of what the barrels contained. Of the 2,353 drums discovered, 1,084 had leaked, according to the article.

To determine the extent of the contamination, contractors will sample the soil, drill into bedrock and test the water that accumulated at the bottom of the drum cache. Cole Carter, site manager for the landfill cleanup project, said in the article that if the chemicals have leaked into larger aquifers or may eventually reach them, there is potential for drinking water contamination.

HAMILTON, MA, September 2, 2008 (Water Tech) — High levels of perchlorate in this town’s drinking water have prompted city officials to issue a warning for many in the community, according to an August 30 report on WBZ-TV.

Hamilton Water District officials said a sample taken on August 13 found levels of perchlorate at 44.4 parts per billion (ppb); the Massachusetts maximum contaminant level (MCL) for perchlorate is 2 ppb. A second sample taken on August 28 returned the same results. A sample taken from another location in the system contained 32.2 ppb, the report said.

City officials turned off the well that contained the higher levels of perchlorate and warned pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children, and those with hypothyroidism not to drink the town’s water. Perchlorate has been used as an ingredient in rocket fuels and explosives.

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) was the first state in the nation to set drinking water and waste site cleanup standards for perchlorate, which interferes with thyroid function and, consequently, can impair human development and metabolism, according to the MassDEP Web site.

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BELLEVILLE, ONTARIO, September 4, 2008 (Water Tech) — Eight elementary and high schools here are providing bottled water to students after elevated levels of lead were detected in the buildings’ drinking water, according to a September 3 article in The Community Press.

Water testing was performed in anticipation of the resumption of classes after summer recess. There are no lead pipes in any of the buildings, and the source of the lead is thought to be lead solder or brass fixtures. Water sitting in the pipes during the summer months may have encouraged leaching, according to the article.

The acceptable upper limit for lead in school water is 0.010 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The levels discovered at the schools ranged from 0.0121 mg/L to 0.0262 mg/L, according to the article.

Water fountains at the schools have been bagged to prevent use and the pipes will be flushed until lead levels return to acceptable limits, according to the article.

CHICAGO, September 5, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added the East Troy Contaminated Aquifer site in Troy, OH, to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) and has proposed adding another three sites in EPA Region 5 to the list, according to a September 3 EPA press release.

The groundwater under the city of Troy is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) from the East Troy Superfund site. The VOCs also have contaminated a nearby drinking water well field. Adding the site to the NPL enables the EPA to further study the sources of contamination and plan ways to clean all affected locations, according to the release.

Two of the three Region 5 sites recommended for placement on the NPL, the Behr Dayton Thermal System VOC Plume in Dayton, OH, and the New Carlisle Landfill in New Carlisle, OH, also involve contaminated water. Groundwater at the Behr Dayton site is contaminated with TCE, and in New Castle, public and private wells have been found to contain vinyl chloride above the safe drinking water level, according to the release.

A total of six sites were added to the NPL nationwide, bringing the total to 1,258. Eleven new sites are proposed nationwide. The EPA updates the list twice a year, according to the release.

NEW YORK, September 12, 2008 (Water Tech) — Recent tests of drinking water supplies, prompted by an Associated Press (AP) report in March that 41 million Americans receive drinking water tainted by trace levels of pharmaceuticals, reveal that the number of Americans affected by meds-in-water is at least 46 million, according to a September 10 AP report.

The original AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water, the AP reported. Positive tests were reported in 17 areas, including Reno, NV; Savannah, GA; Colorado Springs, CO; and Huntsville, AL. Results are pending in three other areas.

The most recent test results, added to data disclosed by communities and water utilities for the March AP report, produce the new total of Americans known to be exposed to drinking water that contains trace levels of pharmaceutical compounds.

Boston, Phoenix and Seattle found no detections of pharmaceuticals in their drinking water supplies.

Cities that reported finding pharmaceuticals in their supplies detected substances similar to those found in other cities’ supplies and reported on in March. One such substance is the anti-convulsant carbamazepine.

According to AP, the overwhelming majority of US cities have not tested drinking water for pharmaceuticals. One of them, New York City, maintains that testing “is not warranted at this time.”

LEON VALLEY, TX, September 15, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is testing to see if chemical compounds discovered in local private wells could be affecting the Edwards Aquifer, which serves 2 million people in south-central Texas, according to a September 9 article on www.woai.com.

The EPA discovered contaminated water in the wells about two years ago, and more recent testing indicates the pollution of a groundwater plume by dry cleaning products.

The aquifer has a “honeycomb” type of formation, said Chris Villareal, project manager for the EPA. This means there are many potential pathways throughout the area through which contaminants can migrate. The EPA will need to take samples from the aquifer and monitor its levels before knowing if water treatment is necessary, according to the article.

Residents were unaware of the contamination and had been using water from the contaminated wells for years before being hooked up to the public water supply.

The EPA will continue water well testing and meet with the Edwards Aquifer Authority to discuss the possibility of contamination, according to the article.

PUEBLO, CO, September 16, 2008 (Water Tech) — Data from a US Geological Survey (USGS) study on nitrate levels in groundwater published in the September-October issue of Journal of Environmental Quality indicates that levels of nitrate concentration in well networks have significantly increased in predominately agricultural areas across the United States.

This study, which was conducted as part of the USGS federally funded National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program, examined decadal-scale changes in nitrate levels in 495 wells in 24 well networks. A well network is a set of about 30 wells randomly selected to examine groundwater quality in a region. Each well network was sampled once during 1988-1995 and again in 2000-2004. Seven of the 24 well networks showed an increase in nitrate concentrations. The median nitrate concentration of three of these well networks that saw an increase exceeded the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contaminant level for nitrates of 10 milligrams per liter, according to the abstract.

WASHINGTON, September 22, 2008 (Water Tech) — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under pressure from the White House and the Pentagon, is expected to rule as early as September 22 that it will not set a drinking water safety standard for the rocket fuel and fireworks chemical perchlorate, according to a September 22 Washington Post article.

The EPA has maintained that perchlorate, which has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children, poses developmental health risks to humans. Earlier this year, the EPA announced that perchlorate, which also is naturally occurring, was included on its most recent Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 3), as WaterTech Online™ reported. The CCL 3 includes possible drinking water contaminants that may need to be regulated to ensure the protection of drinking water.

The EPA’s efforts to help determine if regulation of perchlorate in drinking water would “meaningfully” reduce risks to human health has faced opposition from the Bush administration for years. The Washington Post reported: “According to a near-final document obtained by The Washington Post, the EPA’s ‘preliminary regulatory determination’ — which was extensively edited by White House officials — marks the final step in a six-year-old battle between career EPA scientists who advocate regulating the chemical and White House and Pentagon officials who oppose it.”

The document estimates that up to 16.6 million Americans are exposed to perchlorate at a level many scientists consider unsafe. Independent researchers, using federal and state data, put the number at 20 million to 40 million, the article said.