By: Duane Craig
Farmers and residents in the area of York, Nebraska met recently to discuss the elevating levels of nitrates being found in groundwater, according to this report. To date, 17 communities have had one or more administrative orders on their municipal water supplies for elevated nitrate levels. Nitrate levels in large areas of Nebraska exceed the 10 ppm threshold. Not only that, levels are continuing to escalate.
Elevating levels of nitrates have been expected for at least a decade, even with drastic reductions in the amount of nitrogen that farmers are using to grow crops. That’s because decades of extremely heavy fertilizer applications have loaded the soils with nitrates that continue to work their way into water supplies. Besides being more specific in the timing of nitrogen applications, changes to existing rules would trigger new management levels at increasingly lower nitrate levels. Some of the public water supplies being affected include those of York, Seward, Utica, Polk, Osceola, Gresham, Henderson, Exeter and nine others.
Water Contamination, Land Pollution & Hazardous Waste Material are issues families all across America are afflicted with daily.
Showing posts with label municipal water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label municipal water. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Iowa Community Considers Trading Wells for Community Water
By: Duane Craig
Hills, Iowa residents who are in the path of an expanding underground plume of perchlorate are bracing for the day when they might be told their wells are contaminated with the chemical, according to this article.
Up to now, about 30 homes have been fitted with reverse osmosis water treatment systems to purify their well water, but the plume is on the move and is expected to affect even more homes, according to an official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
But any new water well contamination will be met with two choices - drill a new well and hope it doesn’t come up contaminated, or vote for the installation of a municipal water system. People in the community have their own wells and only pay the cost of pumping the water. But, if a municipal system is set up, then the estimated monthly bill for 4,000 gallons is expected to be about $50, and everyone will be required to hook up.
The community, though, already has another water problem - nitrates. Voters decided against a municipal water system proposed in 2007 to address the issue. But now, there is $4.63 million available from the Environmental Protection Agency to address the nitrate problem, and $1.9 million of that is a forgivable loan with a low interest rate.
There are residents who were against the water system in 2007, that no longer are, mainly because of the newly available money and the potential for attracting new businesses because of having municipal water.
Hills, Iowa residents who are in the path of an expanding underground plume of perchlorate are bracing for the day when they might be told their wells are contaminated with the chemical, according to this article.
Up to now, about 30 homes have been fitted with reverse osmosis water treatment systems to purify their well water, but the plume is on the move and is expected to affect even more homes, according to an official with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
But any new water well contamination will be met with two choices - drill a new well and hope it doesn’t come up contaminated, or vote for the installation of a municipal water system. People in the community have their own wells and only pay the cost of pumping the water. But, if a municipal system is set up, then the estimated monthly bill for 4,000 gallons is expected to be about $50, and everyone will be required to hook up.
The community, though, already has another water problem - nitrates. Voters decided against a municipal water system proposed in 2007 to address the issue. But now, there is $4.63 million available from the Environmental Protection Agency to address the nitrate problem, and $1.9 million of that is a forgivable loan with a low interest rate.
There are residents who were against the water system in 2007, that no longer are, mainly because of the newly available money and the potential for attracting new businesses because of having municipal water.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
California Community Pestered by Pesticide-Tainted Water
By: Duane Craig
Every residential property in Livingston, Calif. that relies on water from city-owned wells can now expect 1,2,3-trichloropropane to be present to some degree in that water, according to an article in the Merced Sun-Star. Livingston’s water supplies have also had problems with elevated levels of arsenic and manganese.
Some local officials appear to be hoping the community accepts the long-term contamination prospects as well as they have. One councilman played down the threat saying it wasn’t serious and that levels of 1,2,3-trichloropropane fluctuate. He said he continues to use the city’s water and also gives it to his children. Another official pointed out the chemical, related to agriculture, had been widely used in the area and had prompted other communities to sue companies that produced and used it.
Livingston itself sued and received a $9 million settlement from companies that participated in the contamination, and local officials say the money is being used to clean up the problem. One approach under development is a specially-designed filter that will remove the chemical. The first of its kind is expected to be completed in fall of 2012.
Livingston is one of many communities across California dealing with the chemical. Its shortened name is 1,2,3-TCP and it was originally found at a Superfund site in the southern part of the state, according to information at the California Department of Health. At about the same time it was found in several wells across the state and in 2009 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported its link to cancer in studies involving laboratory animals. The chemical was used to remove paint and varnish, to clean and degrease materials, as a cleaner during maintenance activities and as an intermediate chemical. It is a byproduct in the manufacture of pesticides based on dichloropropenes, and is used to make soil fumigants.
Land throughout the area near Livingston is heavily used for agricultural purposes leading many to think that its problem is related to pesticide use. Livingston is in Merced County and that county has 25 instances of 1,2,3-TCP being detected in water sources, but the number of detections is on the low side compared to other places in California. For example, Kern County has 108 detections, followed by Los Angeles with 46. Altogether California has 336 sources of water where 1,2,3-TCP has been detected. Still, that might be an optimistic measurement of the potential problem since it doesn’t include 36 inactive, abandoned or destroyed water sources, and doesn’t include agricultural water sources and monitoring wells.
Every residential property in Livingston, Calif. that relies on water from city-owned wells can now expect 1,2,3-trichloropropane to be present to some degree in that water, according to an article in the Merced Sun-Star. Livingston’s water supplies have also had problems with elevated levels of arsenic and manganese.
Some local officials appear to be hoping the community accepts the long-term contamination prospects as well as they have. One councilman played down the threat saying it wasn’t serious and that levels of 1,2,3-trichloropropane fluctuate. He said he continues to use the city’s water and also gives it to his children. Another official pointed out the chemical, related to agriculture, had been widely used in the area and had prompted other communities to sue companies that produced and used it.
Livingston itself sued and received a $9 million settlement from companies that participated in the contamination, and local officials say the money is being used to clean up the problem. One approach under development is a specially-designed filter that will remove the chemical. The first of its kind is expected to be completed in fall of 2012.
Livingston is one of many communities across California dealing with the chemical. Its shortened name is 1,2,3-TCP and it was originally found at a Superfund site in the southern part of the state, according to information at the California Department of Health. At about the same time it was found in several wells across the state and in 2009 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported its link to cancer in studies involving laboratory animals. The chemical was used to remove paint and varnish, to clean and degrease materials, as a cleaner during maintenance activities and as an intermediate chemical. It is a byproduct in the manufacture of pesticides based on dichloropropenes, and is used to make soil fumigants.
Land throughout the area near Livingston is heavily used for agricultural purposes leading many to think that its problem is related to pesticide use. Livingston is in Merced County and that county has 25 instances of 1,2,3-TCP being detected in water sources, but the number of detections is on the low side compared to other places in California. For example, Kern County has 108 detections, followed by Los Angeles with 46. Altogether California has 336 sources of water where 1,2,3-TCP has been detected. Still, that might be an optimistic measurement of the potential problem since it doesn’t include 36 inactive, abandoned or destroyed water sources, and doesn’t include agricultural water sources and monitoring wells.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Asheville's Superfund Site Seeks Millions From PRPs
By: Duane Craig
The Environmental Protection Agency has billed two potentially responsible parties $6.5 million to cover the agency's costs to date in remediating the CTS of Asheville National Priorities Superfund site at 235 Mills Gap Road in Asheville N.C., according to an article in the Citizen-Times.
The site is widely contaminated with solvents such as trichloroethylene, or TCE, and residents have linked the contamination to cases of cancer in children. The EPA is currently monitoring 105 private water wells in the area, and in the past the agency paid to connect residents to municipal water when a spring and five private water wells turned out to be contaminated with not only TCE but also petroleum compounds, according to the EPA's report on the site.
The site is widely contaminated with solvents such as trichloroethylene, or TCE, and residents have linked the contamination to cases of cancer in children. The EPA is currently monitoring 105 private water wells in the area, and in the past the agency paid to connect residents to municipal water when a spring and five private water wells turned out to be contaminated with not only TCE but also petroleum compounds, according to the EPA's report on the site.
Ashville Superfund site still contaminated with trichloroethylene
Residents are tired of the time it has taken to get cleanup actions started, and they welcomed the news of the EPA's latest efforts to get the two companies involved to pay up. Contamination is expected to lie below a 79,000-square-foot deteriorating building that is used by gangs, drug dealers and their users. The EPA has also been conducting vapor intrusion assessments and has been pressuring the responsible parties to plan and implement remediation tactics. A soil vapor extraction operation has so far removed 6,000 pounds of solvents from soils just above the water table.
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