Meters required for all wells in Nesquehoning, PA

Reported on Thursday, August 26, 2010
By CAROL ZICKLER TN Correspondent tneditor@tnonline.com

“Tom Merman asked David Hawk, who serves as the borough’s Water Authority chairman, about putting meters on all of the wells in town that don’t have meters on them. Hawk answered that it is up to council as to whether they want to enforce the ordinance. There is an ordinance that all wells have meters attached. Later in the meeting it was discussed that each homeowner who does not have a meter must get one and have it installed. They will have 30 days from time of accepting the meter to have it installed.”

Published: August 14, 2010

Wilkes University to track NEPA well water quality

Wilkes University will announce a major initiative to track water quality in residential wells in Northeastern Pennsylvania at a news conference Tuesday. Water quality has become a significant issue in the area with the advent of natural gas drilling related to the Marcellus Shale formation. The project, by the university’s Center for Environmental Quality and its Homeowner Outreach Program, will be the first of its kind to track the quality of water in homeowners’ wells in Luzerne and Columbia counties. Educational outreach programs and materials related to water quality and well testing will be shared at the event.

Monday, June 21, 2010

University Park, Pa. — The recent eruption of a Marcellus shale gas well in Clearfield County, Pa., has triggered investigations by state agencies. A Penn State Cooperative Extension water specialist said it also should remind Pennsylvanians that drilling can impact surrounding water resources, and well owners near any drill sites should take steps to monitor their drinking water.

The contaminated water spewed by the natural-gas well for more than 15 hours may have entered a local aquifer. Bryan Swistock, senior extension associate in the School of Forest Resources, said the state Department of Environmental Protection will probably check local streams for contamination, but it may be prudent for water-well owners living near the spill to have an independent laboratory test their well water. He said the tests for various contaminants have a range of costs and implications.

“Things like methane, chloride, total dissolved solids and barium are very good indicators and are relatively inexpensive to test for — most labs can do them,” Swistock explained. “When you move down into the organic chemicals that might be used in fracturing, the cost to test for them goes way up. The risk is much less for those, typically, so it’s not quite as important, but again, if you can afford to do that testing, that’s great.”

The Department of Environmental Protection ordered a contractor hired by the gas-well owner to stop some of its work in the state, hand over equipment records and provide access to employees as DEP investigates the equipment used by the company.

“They haven’t determined how the blow-out happened, but it appears that it allowed a lot of gas and hydrofracturing fluid to escape on the ground into nearby streams,” Swistock said. “That reinforces how important it is for people who live near natural-gas drilling to document their water quality before the drilling, so that if any incidents do occur, you can prove they happened. And that includes testing of wells, streams, ponds and any water resources that you’re concerned about before the drilling occurs.

“It’s hard to document anything if you don’t have any pre-existing data,” he added. “It’s important that homeowners have an unbiased expert from a state-certified lab conduct the tests, in case the sample results are needed for legal action.”

Water forced into subterranean pockets as part of the drilling process dissolves many chemicals out of the rock, Swistock said, and may gather large amounts of iron, calcium, magnesium, strontium and barium, and small amounts of arsenic and lead. There also are enormous amounts of sodium and chloride as water dissolves chemicals left behind by ancient sea water.

Swistock said balancing frequency of testing with the proximity of the drilling activity is an individual decision for each well owner.

“Fracking is a very intensive industrial activity, and these kinds of incidents are going to happen,” he said. “They don’t happen very often if we look at the history of the industry, but people have to decide on their own how concerned they are and how much testing they want to go through. Certainly, water supplies within 1,000 feet of the drilling are considered at higher risk. Beyond that, it’s up to the homeowner to decide. If some people 5,000 feet away are concerned and want to get testing done, that’s really their choice.”

About 3.5 million Pennsylvanians get their water from private wells and springs, according to Swistock. He said residents who want more information on Marcellus shale gas exploration can find it online at Penn State Cooperative Extension’s Natural Gas website at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/.

Drinking water workshop planned in Pottstown

Published: Wednesday, June 02, 2010
By Mercury staff

POTTSTOWN — A free workshop on how better to protect drinking water sources from contamination will be held Thursday, June 24, at Pottstown Middle School.

Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Southeast Region, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania’s Water Resources Education network, the Montgomery County Conservation District, Montgomery County Planning Commission, Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, Schuylkill Action Network, PA Rural Water Association, Pennsylvania Amaerican Waterworks Association and Penn State Cooperative Extension, the workshop will be held at the middle school, 600 N. Franklin St., from 1 to 4:45 p.m.

To preregister visit www.drinkingwaterwise.org or contact Julie Kollar at 267-468-0555.

Friday, April 23, 2010

University Park, Pa. — Ben Franklin wrote, “when the well is dry, we know the worth of water.” But even when the well is pumping steadily, it’s still worthwhile to regularly test private water supplies.

Public water systems are required by law to protect customers and regularly test for impurities. But in Pennsylvania, 3.5 million residents are served by private water systems, such as wells, springs and cisterns, and they have no such legal oversight.

“If you own your own private supply, it’s all your own responsibility to provide clean water to yourself, the people in your family and the people who come to visit,” said Peter Wulfhorst, educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension in Pike County.

Wulfhorst will be the featured speaker in the next Penn State Extension Water Webinar, titled “Safe Drinking Water Clinic,” which will air at noon and again at 7 p.m. on April 28.

He said two types of water standards concern homeowners: primary standards pertaining to health, and secondary standards that pertain to the water’s aesthetics — its taste or smell, its appearance, or whether it stains plumbing fixtures or laundry. He said the webinar will cover both of these subjects, as well as how to protect a water supply from contaminants, which contaminants to test for and what treatments to use if contaminants are present.

Contaminants known as total coliforms include bacteria that are found in the soil, in water that has been influenced by surface water and in human or animal waste. Fecal coliforms are a more accurate indicator of animal or human waste because they are specifically present in the gut and feces of warm-blooded animals. Escherichia coli, or E. coli, is a major group within the fecal coliform group, and certain strains of these bacteria can cause severe illness.

“We can live with coliforms,” Wulfhorst said, “but E. coli can make you sick. That’s usually found with wastewater. Many supplies have at least one water-quality problem. Groundwater is in contact with the rock material it flows through, so it picks up potential contaminants.” He said groundwater is typically not a host for coliform bacteria, but surface water can be.

Wulfhorst warned that any time water supplies come in contact with surface water, whether by runoff or because a cracked well casing admits surface water into groundwater, water is likely to contain bacteria.

Cisterns, typically underground tanks for collecting surface water runoff, definitely need to be treated for bacteria, according to Wulfhorst. Water that runs off a roof or through gutters comes in contact with many contaminants, and any kind of surface water is likely to contain bacteria, he said.

Springs are simply groundwater sources that come out at the surface, he said. If the source is an open spring, it is very likely to have bacteria, either from animal waste, contact with dead animals or simply from having an animal swim in it, Wulfhorst explained. A spring is more susceptible to coliform bacteria, so experts recommend piping spring water and enclosing the spring itself with a spring box.

Drilled wells are by far the most common private water source in Pennsylvania. They number more than 1 million, and an estimated 20,000 new wells are drilled each year.

Most wells have a standard well cap, which doesn’t do a very good job of excluding insects or mice. A sanitary well cap — a rubber gasket used to seal the well casing — is a little more expensive, according to Wulfhorst, but he said it does a much better job at keeping out vermin. He said a recent survey showed that only 16 percent of Pennsylvania wells have sanitary well caps.

In terms of treatment for various water conditions, Wulfhorst said that each treatment option offers some solution, and that these vary according to the specific water problem. Solutions can include purifying water with UV light, using water softeners to condition water, employing filters to remove certain impurities, and carefully disinfecting wells with proper handling of chlorine additives.

“Testing can be expensive, but it’s a good precaution,” he said. “I’ve heard horror stories of people erroneously being sold certain equipment. One customer was told she had hard water and that it was corrosive. In fact, she already had soft water — and she’d spent about $800 for a water softener. She was shocked.”

Wulfhorst warned homeowners to be skeptical of treatment system vendors who perform home tests on the spot while making a sales call. “Bacterial tests have to be done in an incubator and need 24 hours,” he noted.

He said he is also wary of instant visual tests for hardness range or pH. “When it changes color, it gives a range, but not an exact numerical figure. Everybody’s eye is a little different.” He instead recommends having water tested through a certified lab.

Wulfhorst also advised all well owners to consult Penn State’s water website at http://water.cas.psu.edu. “The website has all our publications, information about our portable classroom, videos, water conservation suggestions and lists of face-to-face programs that individuals can attend — and some of those offer water testing through a certified lab.”

The safe drinking water webinar is part of a series targeting the most common water questions and concerns people have about water resources on their own property, whether those are water wells, septic systems or ponds. The series covers water resource types, threats to water quality and quantity, and how to manage them.

Participants must preregister for the webinars, but only one registration is required for the entire series. To register, visit http://water.cas.psu.edu/webinars.htm. Once participants have preregistered, they may visit this website on the day of the presentation and simply click on the link with the title of that day’s webinar.

The final Penn State Cooperative Extension Water Webinar of the season will be held at noon and again at 7 p.m. on May 26. “Managing Your On-Lot Septic System” will be presented by Dana Rizzo, Penn State Extension educator from Westmoreland County.

For more information, contact Peter Wulfhorst at 570-296-3400, or by e-mail at ptw3@psu.edu.

Well testing offered to residents near drilling site
By Elizabeth Skrapits (Staff Writer)
Published: April 21, 2010

elizabeth skrapits / the citizens’ voice Brian Oram, a hydrogeologist from Wilkes University, talks about local geology Tuesday at the Lehman Township Fire Hall.

LEHMAN TWP. – Residents near a planned natural gas well site in Lake Township were advised Tuesday to take advantage of an opportunity to have their private wells tested.

Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc., in partnership with WhitMar Exploration Co., has selected the Salansky property on Sholtis Road in Lake Township as the site of the second of three proposed exploratory natural gas wells in Luzerne County.

State regulations require natural gas drilling companies to sample drinking water wells within 1,000 feet of their drilling sites, but Encana is testing within a 1-mile radius of its proposed drilling sites.

The companies plan to start drilling at the Lake Township site in July if they can receive the required permissions, Encana Spokeswoman Wendy Wiedenbeck said. The first site to be drilled will be the Buda property behind the Ricketts Glen Hotel in Fairmount Township, in June. Although the companies have required permits to drill at a third site, the Lansberry property in Lehman Township, Wiedenbeck said she is not sure when drilling will start there.

Encana has retained Lancaster-based RETTEW Associates Inc. as a third-party firm to do the sampling, and King-of-Prussia-based TestAmerica as its independent laboratory to do the tests.

Drilling will not start until the water testing is complete, Wiedenbeck said. The reason for the water testing is to establish a baseline, or show what is in peoples’ well water before the drilling starts.

A few residents expressed concern about a similar situation like that in Dimock Township, where 14 families’ wells were invaded by methane. The state Department of Environmental Protection fined Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., made the company cap three wells, and put a stop to more drilling within a 9-square-mile radius of the township for at least a year. The problem is believed to have been caused by a faulty well casing.

Encana will follow protocols so as not to repeat the mistakes of the other well operator, according to Wiedenbeck. Differences include two well casings, the first of which will go at least 50 feet below the nearest known water source.

“I don’t know if there’s anything I can say to erase the concern from another’s mistake,” Wiedenbeck said. “We will take steps so we do not impact the water.”

On questioning, Wiedenbeck admitted Encana may have had an impact to a water source – a stream – while drilling in Colorado, but said state environmental authorities were called immediately and the company implemented a new protocol afterwards.

Although people seem to have a lot of concerns about the hydraulic fracturing process, Wiedenbeck said the biggest concern should be about the well bore instead of 7,000 feet underground: the well bore integrity will prevent fluids and gas from migrating.

If Encana did impact residents’ water, the company would be responsible to make sure they had drinkable, usable water the same as before the incident, she said.

“I think they (Encana) danced around some of the questions, but the water testing is a good idea, at least to give us a baseline,” Jeffrey Chulick, who lives near the Lake Township site, said after the meeting when asked what he thought. “I’m not sure about the natural gas drilling, though.”

After the question-and-answer session with Encana, Wilkes University hydrogeologist Brian Oram gave a presentation on what’s underground and in the water in the region.

Oram, who is not involved with the water sampling or acting as a consultant to Encana – “My role isn’t to swing somebody either way,” as he put it – did advise people to have the water sampling done.

He said in his 20 years of doing baseline water testing in Luzerne County, he found 30 percent to 50 percent of private wells were contaminated. For example, methane was discovered in wells in Tunkhannock and Columbia County even before Marcellus Shale drilling started there, Oram said.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

Drinking water workshop April 13

Daily Record/Sunday News
Posted: 04/06/2010 09:09:43 AM EDT

York County Cooperative Extension is scheduled to host a workshop for people who might have problems with their wells or who might be new to well water April 13.

The safe drinking water workshop is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and is scheduled to repeat at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the York County Annex, 112 Pleasant Acres Road, in Springettsbury Township.

Registration is $13 for an individual and $15 for couples by calling 840-7408.

AGENDA

• How gas wells can impact groundwater wells.
• Regulations to protect private wells.
• Potential water pollutants.
• Testing strategies – including test packages through Penn State and third party water testing.
• How to collect water samples.
• Interpretation of water test results.

Water File 2

Who owns groundwater in the aquifer?

By Colin McDonald - Express-News

AUSTIN — The ownership and control of groundwater pumping rights in Texas is now in the hands of the state Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, the nine justices heard arguments in a case that pits the right of a landowner near Von Ormy to pump from the Edwards Aquifer against the government’s authority to regulate the use of ground and surface water.

For more than a decade, the Edwards Aquifer Authority has argued that in order for it to regulate pumping, landowners cannot own the water in the Edwards Aquifer.

It was first time the state’s highest court considered that argument.

Scores of landowners, private organizations, cities and state agencies that disagree with the EAA packed the courtroom and formed a line outside.

“Any ruling by the Court that in any manner destabilizes groundwater ownership rights could have dire consequences for Texans and the Texas economy,” wrote Texas Comptroller Susan Combs.

The EAA was created by state law in 1993 to ensure a future water supply for the region and protect endangered species by limiting pumping from the aquifer.

Instead of allowing landowners to continue to pump as much water as they wanted as long as they put it to some beneficial use, the authority issued pumping permits and put a cap on the total amount that could be pumped.

In 1996, Burrell Day and Joel McDaniel requested a permit to pump 700 acre-feet from the ground. The two wanted to start a peanut and oat farm on the 350-acre ranch they had recently purchased. Their plan was to use the free-flowing water from a well drilled by the previous owner that was filling a 50-acre man-made lake on the property. The EAA denied their application for groundwater. It told the landowners that if they wanted to use the water in the lake, which is considered surface water and therefore controlled by the state, then they would need a permit from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality, not the EAA.

The EAA issued a permit for Day and McDaniel to pump 14 acre-feet a year.

The two sued in district court, arguing the EAA had “taken” their property by denying them the right to pump. Day died last year.

“They have regulated us out of our ownership of the groundwater by regulating it to the point of it being useless,” said Day’s and McDaniel’s lawyer Tom Joseph.

Because the well water mostly evaporated out of the shallow lake and never flowed off the property, Joseph argued it never became state water. Instead, it should be considered groundwater because it came from the well. As groundwater, it belongs to the landowners because they own the well.

The EAA countered the landowners did not have a constitutionally protected right to the water beneath their land and therefore could not sue.

The lines were drawn, and some 14 years and multiple appeals in federal and state courts later, the Texas Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

In general, the other courts agreed with the EAA and the outcome of the permit process. But the state Court of Appeals ruled landowners do have “some ownership rights in the groundwater.”

On Wednesday, the EAA argued that if the groundwater is owned by the landowners, then it and the roughly 95 groundwater conservation districts in the state would be open to a lawsuit every time they tried to limit pumping or be forced to compensate landowners.

“This is no small question for the authority,” the EAA lawyers wrote in their brief to the court.

The EAA would have its “legs pulled out from underneath it” if the court ruled against it, EAA lawyer Pamela Baron told the justices.

Justice Harriet O’Neill questioned that logic, pointing out a “takings” claim is difficult to prove, and water ownership would not necessarily limit the power of the EAA.

Justice Nathan Hecht also challenged the EAA’s stance and asked Baron if the landowners don’t own the water beneath their land, then who does?

Baron replied that no one had to own groundwater.

But if the landowner does not own the water, Hecht continued, then what protection is there from the state coming in and taking all of the water for another use?

Baron said the landowners and the water would be protected from such a radical change by locally elected board members of the EAA and the conservation districts. If the board members did something the landowners did not like, they would be voted out.

To Joseph, Hecht questioned why the EAA’s limit on pumping was any different than a zoning restriction. Both limit the value and use of a property, but the zoning is not considered a “taking.”

Joseph argued that the rule of capture, which has historically allowed landowners to use all the water they can, should still apply.

But it was specifically that approach to water use the EAA was formed to curtail.

Find this article at:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/livinggreensa/84668452.html

Ground Water Awareness Week Slated for March 7-13

WASHINGTON, D.C, February 17, 2010 – The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging Farm Bureau members to schedule an annual water well checkup during National Ground Water Awareness Week, March 7-13.

Ground Water Awareness Week is sponsored annually by the National Ground Water Association. NGWA is urging every household well owner to check his or her well cap to make sure it is in good condition to protect the water supply from contamination.

“A damaged or unsecured well cap can allow the entry of bacteria or other contaminants into the well. It is one of the easiest things to check, and a well owner can do it,” said John Pitz, CPI, a member of NGWA’s national board of directors.

“While well owners can spot a damaged or unsecured well cap, they should always use a qualified water well systems contractor who knows applicable well construction codes,” Pitz said. “If the well cap is damaged or unsecured, the water well contractor may also need to test the water and disinfect the well.”

Having your well tested is the surest way to determine that the water is safe. Even if your well cap fits tightly on your well and your water tastes fine, the water well system should be given a checkup by a contractor every year, according to NGWA.

Farm Bureau supports National Ground Water Awareness Week because of the vital importance of ground water to farms and ranches for irrigation and because 96 percent of rural Americans depend on ground water for their water supply, according to AFBF President Bob Stallman.

“Irrigation accounts for the largest use of ground water in the United States. Some 58 billion gallons of ground water are used daily for agricultural irrigation from more than 374,082 wells,” Stallman said. “America’s farmers and ranchers take their roles as environmental stewards very seriously. We are committed to ensuring that America’s ground water supply is safe, clean and pure.”

To learn more about proper well location and construction, well maintenance, water testing and treatment, and groundwater protection, visit NGWA’s Web site, www.wellowner.org.

Contacts

Tracy Taylor Grondine
(202) 406-3642
tracyg@fb.org

John Hart
(202) 406-3659
johnh@fb.org