Date: Fri 23-Aug-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Appleblossom-water-pollution

Full Text:

Appleblossom Neighborhood Could Have Water Mains By Spring

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

"It's possible that construction of water mains could begin as early as next

spring to alleviate groundwater contamination problems in the Appleblossom and

Cedar Hill Road areas, according to Newtown Health District Director Mark A.R.

Cooper.

"I'd venture a guess that construction will begin in the spring as long as the

project is approved by the State Bond Commission in October," Mr Cooper told

the 50 property owners who attended an informational meeting held last week by

the State Department of Environmental Protection, the local health district

and the district's engineering consultants in the Alexandria Room of Edmond

Town Hall.

DEP spokesman Jonathan Goldman said he planned to incorporate residents'

comments and concerns in a draft report which he will submit to his superiors

for approval. The final report must be approved by the DEP and the state

Department of Public Health and reach the bond commission for its October

meeting if water main construction is to start in the spring.

There are still a lot of decisions to be made, town and state officials

agreed. To begin with, the state must decide which plan to adopt.

SEA Consultants, Inc., the town's engineering consultants, came up with three

possible plans and recommended "Option A" which would provide a water main

extension to residents of Appleblossom Lane, Dogwood Terrace and part of Cedar

Hill Road, stopping at 1 Old Gate Lane. In addition, a house at 64 Cedar Hill

Road would receive a whole-house carbon filtration system. Groundwater

monitoring also would continue around the perimeter of the existing

contamination semi-annually for five years and annually for the following 15

years to determine if the contamination is migrating and potentially impacting

additional homes. This plan would cost approximately $1.74 million, all of

which would be paid by the state.

Option B, which would cost $2.29 million, extends the water main throughout

the entire area and loops all water mains to avoid "dead ends." Only homes

with water quality problems would be hooked to the mains. Although much more

expensive, this looped system is more reliable with improved water quality,

the consultants said. But it would also, in effect, require spending $550,000

to hook up only one more house - the house at 64 Cedar Hill Road.

Option C is similar to Option B except that water service would be provided to

all homes the main passes - even those which do not have any existing water

quality problems. This option would cost approximately $2.4 million.

Abandon Wells

In each of the options, when homes are connected to the water mains, existing

private wells will have to be sealed and abandoned to eliminate the

possibility of cross-contamination. Extending the water main also may cause

reduced water pressure, particularly as the water travels up Cedar Hill Road,

so all three plans include a booster station near the intersection of

Appleblossom Road and Main Street.

Residents at the meeting generally favored the more extensive plans. But Mr

Goldman said the DEP has only about $3 million to address water quality

problems across the state in this budget year. Spending money in Newtown to

solve contamination problems which may never occur could leave insufficient

funds to address pollution problems in other communities, he said.

"This is by far the largest project right now," Mr Goldman said. "This is no

small dollar amount."

There is no guarantee, however, that any of the three options will be adopted

by the state.

"All three plans are options. We recommend "A" but the state may not extend

the water main that far and may use more carbon filters," said Peter Newton of

SEA Consultants. Mr Newton and William Hardy respresented SEA at the meeting.

Mr Goldman said the bond commission has never rejected a request for money to

provide potable water. "Typically one of the highest priorities is a health

issue," he said.

Mr Cooper said that when the state and the town signed a consent order to

address the problem, the state pledged that it would remediate it. "All of

these options will provide potable water for everyone," he stressed.

Some residents were concerned that if water is no longer being drawn from the

aquifer by private wells, the existing groundwater system will change and the

comtamination may spread further.

"I'm concerned because between the times (previous) testing was done, the

level of contamination fell significantly on one property but much less, in

proportion, on the adjacent property. This could indicate it already is

spreading," said Bob Poulin, who owns a rental property on Appleblossom Lane.

Testing Will Continue

Although the SEA report said the contamination does not appear to be migrating

now, Mr Goldman said SEA is working on a map and text which will show areas

which could be affected by the contamination in the future. SEA missed the

deadline for providing this information at the meeting, but it will be

provided for the DEP review, he said.

"There is no plan to implement a recommendation and then go away," he said.

"(The contamination) could extend further - we just don't know."

Mr Cooper said the source of the tetrachloroethylene (PCE) which contaminated

the groundwater may never be identified.

"This contamination probably goes back 15 to 20 years. It could have been from

someone working on cars. It could be from multiple sources. But it must have

been there for a long time for the contamination to have moved this distance."

In any case, bottled water or carbon filters will continue to be provided for

any homes with contaminated water until water mains are installed and hookups

completed, he said. Installing a carbon filter system (equipment, installation

and water testing) is about $1,830 per house; annual operating costs

(replacement filters and water testing) are about $2,375 per house, all of

which will be paid by the state for properties which have contaminated water.

Once water main hookups are completed, the average property owner will pay

about $404 a year for water usage, based on an estimated quarterly usage of

16,000 gallons per household.

One property owner asked whether septic systems will fail after water mains

are installed. Abandoning private wells and bringing in water mains will

ultimately result in more groundwater, he predicted.

"This is less likely to happen than the reverse," Mr Cooper responded. "When

sewers go in, wells tend to go dry in three to five years and you have to

bring in public water."