Goodell Law Firm raising concerns of water contamination

by Carly Laing, originally posted on December 14, 2016

 

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – Water well 16 in Lafayette tested positive for contamination, and now the city is being advised to take action to keep contaminated drinking water from reaching residents.

Lawyer William Goodell gave a stern warning to the city and it’s residents Wednesday night.

“Me and my co-counsel are here to get this aquifer cleaned up, and to protect the environment, and we are not going to go away till it’s cleaned up,” said Goodell.

During an investigation of the former Union Pacific Maintenance Rail-yard facility in North Lafayette, contaminates were found in the Chicot Aquifer, the city’s only water source.

“There are substances in the soil and at the top of the aquifer in the rail-yard and one of those substances is in the Lafayette water well in-take,” said Goodell.

Goodell believes if the problem isn’t fixed, the city’s drinking water could be compromised.

“The concentrations that are detected in the water well don’t reach dangerous levels at this point in time, but our experts and our research tells us that these concentrations are probably going to get higher in the near future,” said Goodell.

Goodell said this is not the first time the city was notified of the issue.

“Rail-yard contamination was the object of a lawsuit in federal court filed several years ago. That lawsuit was settled and in our investigations we were able to determine that no clean was done.”

Goodell said residents should not be alarmed at this time, but hopes the city takes the proper steps to prevent the situation from becoming dangerous.

Goodell said after a full investigation the rail-yard needs to be properly cleaned to prevent further threats to the aquifer.

We reached out to lafayette consolidated government but they have yet to return our calls.

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