Thousands drink from unregulated private wells
This is a news article about private wells, reported in the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. I think this same story could be written by The Times News about Carbon County.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/D919A022DE10917D862571E60053032A?OpenDocument
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – MO, United States
Thousands drink from unregulated private wells
By Clay Barbour
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Sep. 11 2006
Clean water is something most people take for granted. Turn the spigot on and like magic, fresh cold water travels from some treatment plant on the far side of town, up through the ground and into the sink.
Whenever something bad happens – such as in July
There are about 800,000 private wells in Missouri and Illinois, serving about 3 million people. And in truth, that’s little more than an educated guess. Missouri started keeping track in 1987. Illinois started in the mid-’60s.
Officials say records before that are spotty, at best.
Regardless, whether the existing wells provide clean, safe water depends almost entirely on the vigilance of owners.
Robert Kiesel recently bought a house in Wildwood. One day while inspecting his yard, he noticed the cap was off his well.
“My wife was convinced a chipmunk had fallen in,” he said.
So Kiesel had his water checked at the St. Louis County Health Department and discovered that his well needed a strong chlorine treatment to kill off the high levels of bacteria.
“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “But my wife is. She’s a chemist, and she knows everything that could go wrong with water. So I’ll keep an eye on it.”
The federal government is currently working on a nationwide survey of drinking water. Until now, there has been no such study.
There are about 1,800 private wells in St. Louis County. In the past three years, officials have performed 266 water quality tests, 40 percent of which failed because of high levels of coliform bacteria.
Across the river there are more than 10,000 wells in Madison and St. Clair counties. Along with Monroe and Randolph counties, the two make up a region that has been cited for having the “high potential” for groundwater contamination.
St. Clair does not offer water testing. Officials do give free kits and applications for people who want the state to test their water.
Madison County, which has about 5,400 private wells, offers free testing to residents once a year, but few get them. Officials have performed 135 water quality tests so far this year, of which about 40 percent failed.
“I would imagine that most of the people who get their water tested think they might have a problem,” said Mike Hungerford, Madison’s environmental health services manager. “But there are probably a lot of people out there who think their water is OK, when it’s not.”
cbarbour@post-dispatch.com 314-727-6234
Tamaqua dredge in the news
News from the Republican & Herald
TAMAQUA— The borough council delayed a vote on a controversial biosolids ordinance Tuesday evening after its solicitor failed to advertise it on time.
However, by a narrow margin, council members voted to overturn a controversial agreement with a Pottsville mining company supporters say gave the borough court standing if river dredge material were ever to be imported.
Read more here.
Is it safe to do the right thing?
News from the Environmental News Service:
Clean Water Act Whistleblowers Murky Legal Protection
WASHINGTON, DC, September 5, 2006 (ENS) – The Bush administration has declared itself immune from whistleblower protections for federal workers under the Clean Water Act, according to legal documents released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
As a result of an opinion issued by a unit within the Office of the Attorney General, federal workers will have little protection from official retaliation for reporting water pollution enforcement breakdowns, manipulations of science or cleanup failures.
Read more here.
Flood victims have until Oct. 3 to register for federal assistance
August 28, 2006
Registration deadline extended in Pa. Flood victims have until Oct. 3 to register for federal assistance
HARRISBURG, Pa. – FEMA and the Commonwealth want to be sure all Pennsylvanians affected by June’s flooding receive disaster assistance. That’s why FEMA has approved the state’s request to extend the deadline for Pennsylvania residents and business owners to apply for federal disaster assistance to Oct. 3.
“With dozens of new applications coming in every day, we thought it was important to extend the registration deadline so everyone who was affected has a chance to apply,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Tom Davies. “If you or your family suffered losses and you haven’t yet contacted FEMA, please do.”
Read more at the Times News Online
Flood Victims_Free Test Kits, Oil Tank Cleanup Services Available Until Sept. 8
Press Release Source: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Free Test Kits, Oil Tank Cleanup Services Available Until Sept. 8 in Counties Affected by June Floods
Monday August 28, 1:44 pm ET
HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ — Flood victims who wish to take advantage of free water well testing kits should contact the Department of Environmental Protection’s regional offices prior to Sept. 8. The department began providing the free kits after the June floods to homeowners with a private well system to ensure they have access to safe drinking water.
The department also will continue to offer free pumping and removal services for flooded or damaged home heating oil tanks in affected areas. Residents or local officials who call before Sept. 8 can make an appointment for DEP staff and a contractor to come to the home for cleanup.
Proper handling of home heating oil is essential to prevent soil and groundwater contamination that could linger long after flood waters recede.
Pennsylvania has more private water wells then any other state in the nation. It is estimated there are nearly 1 million private wells in the commonwealth, and they are the sole source of drinking water for most rural populations.
Individuals with questions or concerns about the test kits or cleanup should contact the Department of Environmental Protection regional office in the area:
— Southeast Regional Office, 484-250-5900.
— Northeast Regional Office, 570-826-2511.
— Southcentral Regional Office, 717-705-4741.
— Northcentral Regional Office, 570-327-3636.
— Southwest Regional Office, 412-442-4000.
— Northwest Regional Office, 814-332-6945.
For copies of the fact sheet and more flood recovery information on re- entering and cleaning homes and businesses, cleaning up home heating oil, reporting spills and other environmental emergencies, contact the nearest DEP regional office or visit DEP’s Web site at http://www.depweb.state.pa.us and click on “Flood Recovery.”
CONTACT: Kurt M. Knaus
717-787-1323
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
New Scientist reports water crisis
Today, New Scientist.com reports that one-third of the world’s population is short of water – a situation we were not predicted to arrive at until 2025. That’s the result of a new report on the state of the world’s water supplies.
The report by the International Water Management Institute in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was released on Monday in Stockholm at the start of World Water Week. It paints a bleak picture of global access to fresh water and warns that the world cannot carry on complacently using water as if it will never run out.
The reason for the discrepancy is that earlier predictions were based on a country-by-country analysis. The latest figures stem from a more detailed analysis of natural water basins, according to the article.
Read more here.
Survey for Well Owners
Pennsylvania is home to over one million private water wells that provide drinking water to over three million rural residents, with an additional 20,000 new water wells drilled each year. Pennsylvania, however, is one of the few states that have no guidelines on how to construct and maintain private water wells, and many fail at least one drinking water standard.
Since all aspects of private well location, construction and management are voluntary, little is known about them and how they perform for homeowners. This makes it difficult to create educational programs to meet the needs of existing and future well owners. The purpose of this research study is to learn about the characteristics and management of private wells in the state along with homeowner opinions.
Penn State University in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center is offering you an opportunity to contribute through an online survey regarding your private water well. Your knowledge and opinions are important to us as we develop programs for existing and future well owners. You must be a Pennsylvania resident and at least 18 years old to complete the online survey, which will take less than 10 minutes of your time. Please do not fill out the survey if your water comes from a public (city) water supply or from a spring or cistern. Your knowledge and opinions will help shape Penn State programs in the next five years for existing and future well owners.
Access the survey by surfing to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=71482275593.
“Wolves” invade CCEEC
Here’s some information about an upcoming program hosted by CCGG’s friends at CCEEC.
Thursday, July 27 6 PM
She has joined such organizations as Wolf Education and Research Center in Idaho and has met the wolf she has adopted that resides there at the center. Nikki has also been instrumental in the reintroduction of wolves at Yellowstone National Park.
For more information or to register for this exciting program, please call CCEEC at 570-645-8597.
Judge upholds quarry permit denial
Judge David W. Addy needed only two sentences to uphold East Penn Township zoners’ decision to deny a request by Lehigh Asphalt Paving and Construction Co. to expand its controversial quarry in the township.
He made the ruling yesterday. Read the complete story here.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3_1quarryjul25,0,7436691.story
Tamaqua continues water testing
Got this from Frank today.
Despite another government agency conculding that the water in the Still Creek Reservoir poses no threat, Tamaqua’s borough water authority will continue water testing. See the complete story here:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16962325&BRD=2626&PAG=461&dept_id=532624&rfi=6