[Water_news] 4. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS -WATERQUALITY-3/3/09

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

March 3, 2009

 

4. Water Quality –

 

 

EPA drills wells in Visalia, hunts toxic chemical

Fresno Bee – 3/2/09

By Lewis Griswold, staff writer

 

The federal Environmental Protection Agency will begin drilling monitoring wells around downtown Visalia today to look for the source of a dry cleaning chemical that has contaminated drinking water supplies.

 

The six wells will allow the EPA and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to search for perchloroethylene, or "perc." The chemical is used in dry cleaning, and has shown up in drinking water in Visalia.

 

Exposure to the man-made substance, especially through breathing vapors, can cause liver and kidney damage, and is believed to increase cancer risk.

California Water Service said it has four wells in Visalia that have water contaminated with perc.

 

District manager Phil Mirwald said Monday that the water from the wells is treated with activated carbon to remove the chemical. Perc was first detected by Cal Water in one of its wells in 1991, Mirwald said.

 

All drinking water in Visalia comes from wells. But an EPA spokeswoman said that the drinking water in Visalia meets federal and state standards for safety.

The EPA is paying for the $207,000 cost of drilling.

 

But after the drilling is done and water and soil samples are collected and analyzed, it's up to the state to identify owners of property where the contamination occurred and ask them to pay for the cleanup, said Mike Vivas, a Department of Toxic Substances Control project manager.

 

"By the end of the summer, we expect to identify some responsible parties," Vivas said.

 

Vivas said the most common cleanup method is to drill a hole in the soil and vacuum out the vapors. Contaminated water is run through carbon filters to clean it.

Visalia was chosen to look for sources of perc because the contamination has been spreading and city residents get all of their water from wells, state officials said. Over the last quarter century, contamination has been detected in 25 water wells, including some owned by private operators or small companies, and more recently buried monitors have found vapors.

 

The state Air Resources Board has banned dry cleaners from buying new machines that use perc, but existing machines can continue using the chemical until 2023.#

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1234157.html

 

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