Contaminated Water Wells To Be Cleaned
Contracts are set to be awarded at the Feb. 17th meeting of the Garden City Board of Trustees so that construction can begin on upgrading a Volatile Organic Contaminant (VOC) treatment system to accommodate the flows from two contaminated wells in close proximity to the existing treatment facility.
"One facility saves money, time and space as several portions of the facility can serve both wells," said Francis J. Koch, P.E., superintendent of the Village's water and sewer systems.
Well No. 8 has been out of service since the fall of 2007 because VOCs have been detected in the well. Well No. 12 uses the current treatment facility, which is now functioning at the maximum design contamination level. Koch says he has been closely monitoring Well No. 12 and expects the VOCs to continue increasing in the near future. Any significant increase in the VOC levels would mean that the well would be taken out of service.
The contaminants are an industrial cleaning solvent called trichloroethylene and an industrial solvent mostly used in dry cleaning called tetrachloroethylene. Both emanated from a Federal Super Fund Sight called Jackson Steel just north of the Village. They percolated into the ground until they reached the magothy aquifer, otherwise known as the drinking water aquifer, and naturally traveled in a south southwest direction. They have also been affected by large supply wells. The contaminants reached Well No.12 in the early 1990s and Well No. 8 in 2007.
Sive, Paget & Riesel, a law firm specializing in environmental law, litigation, development and land use, and municipal law, initiated legal action two years ago on the Village's behalf against those believed to be responsible for the contamination. The matter is still being litigated, according to Mangan. In December, the Board hired the same firm to study the possible impact demolition of Ellis Hall and the historic Main Building would have on the environment.
As The Garden City News reported in December, a $2.1 million bond was approved for this project by the Board of Trustees at its Dec. 18th meeting. At the time, Trustee Donald Brudie questioned whether it was necessary to fix both wells this year given the current budget crisis. Robert Mangan, director of the Village's department of public works, explained that the Village will have to borrow water over the summer from other communities if well 12 is not fixed.
The bond's 55-day public notice period, which is required by law, is set to end prior to the next Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 17th. The Board will then be asked to approve contracts for the project. Construction will follow as soon as the contracts are signed.
The bond will be paid through the Water Fund, an enterprise fund generated by direct billing of water use to customers. Through the fund, the Water Department provides clean, safe drinking water through an operating budget and a capital improvement budget.
