Water Department will resume using Sugar Creek aquifer.
CANTON The city Water Department plans to resume using water wells near a Beach City area quarry that was a dumping site for diesel-tainted drilling mud.
Superintendent Tyler Converse on Monday said testing confirmed the city’s aquifer hadn’t been contaminated, but the Water Department would monitor the supply indefinitely.
Rover Pipeline workers in April spilled 2 million gallons of bentonite clay into a wetland while boring a path for the pipeline beneath the Tuscarawas River in Bethlehem Township.
One quarry was near Aqua Ohio wells north of Massillon.
The other quarry was close to the Water Department’s Sugar Creek aquifer near Beach City.
Testing by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency later showed the slurry was tainted with diesel fuel, and federal authorities ordered Rover to remove the slurry and install wells to monitor groundwater.
Rover has removed the slurry from the Beach City quarry, and monitoring wells placed by Rover and the city, along with the city’s production wells, haven’t shown signs of contamination, “so, there shouldn’t be anything left to cause an issue,” Converse said.
The Water Department routinely rotates well pumping, and will discuss when to begin using the Sugar Creek aquifer, one of the city’s three underground water sources.
Reach Shane at 330-580-8338 or shane.hoover@cantonrep.com

Harvey blew away her water well building, tank and water softener system.
Residents with private water wells should get the wells tested if they haven’t since Harvey and should continue to do so yearly, agriculture officials said.
"It’s very important to be sure we don’t have bacteria or anything swimming in our water we don’t want there," Wittnebert said.
Wells that were damaged and not flooded also had the possibility of being contaminated, he said.
If a well is contaminated, the owner should get a certified water treatment specialist to help fix the problem.
If the wires had problems, he replaced them, he said.
For Traux, a water well service call costs $150.
Weeks and months after the hurricane, the company received a lot of requests to fix broken windmills that generated water wells to fill stock ponds and troughs for livestock.
The company also received many calls about flooded water wells and questions about what to do.
Officials advised owners to test and sanitize their wells before using their wells’ water, Seekamp said.

Ming-Kuo Lee, a hydrology professor from Auburn, told a crowd of about 150 area residents Tuesday night that four of 13 groundwater wells sampled in that area showed levels of radon in excess of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommendations for drinking water.
The EPA says that radon exposure can cause cancers to develop in the lungs if inhaled or internal organs if consumed in drinking water.
Lee said the municipal water tested within EPA safety thresholds for heavy metals, trace elements, volatile organic compounds and other substances of concern.
"The recommendation we made is that, if financially possible, [Fruithurst residents] should switch to the safe, city municipal water as soon as possible."
Radon is usually a gas, but can be present in drinking water taken directly from underground sources, according to an EPA fact sheet.
Other substances found In addition to the radon, researchers found a number of other chemicals of concern in groundwater and soil samples from the area, including heavy metals and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds.
A ProBlend rubber production facility operated in Fruithurst from 1987 until 2015.
Testing continues Christy Hiett, principal of Fruithurst Elementary School, said she began organizing the testing after four boys under the age of 18 were diagnosed with leukemia in the span of two years.
The group has also purchased reverse-osmosis water filtration systems for households that are unable to connect to the municipal water system.
"We need to get more soil samples near the facility to find the level of distribution for both heavy metals and some organic compounds."

Health effects on humans of Freon 22 in drinking water are unclear, but studies in laboratory animals have shown that exposure to high levels of airborne Freon 22 cause nervous-system and heart problems, according to the state Department of Health.
The chemical is in roughly 6 percent of about 1,000 operating public wells on Long Island, although usually in levels far below the state limit, said Paul Ponturo, senior water resources engineer at Melville-based H2M, a consultant for water systems across Long Island.
The two closed Glen Cove wells reached concentrations as high as 8.2 parts per billion.
Even without the wells, the city can meet residents’ water needs during cold-weather months, said Michael Colangelo, Glen Cove’s water service foreman.
“Buying water from another municipality is extremely expensive.” City officials said they hope to reopen a well that was closed in 2011 because of structural problems and Freon 22 levels just under the state limit.
A Dec. 28 report from Woodbury-based D&B Engineers and Architects, P.C., estimated that installing an air stripper to that well to remove Freon 22 and making repairs would cost more than $4.7 million.
An air stripper for the three Duck Pond Road wells could cost $7 million to $10 million and take up to three years for installation, Colangelo said.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has started investigating causes of the Duck Pond Road well contamination, said Karen Gomez, the DEC’s regional engineer for water and remediation.
The source of the Roslyn well contamination was never found, despite “thorough investigations,” DEC officials said.
One way the chemical gets into groundwater and eventually into wells is through leaks in the hundreds of underground cooling systems across Long Island, Ponturo said.

Inspectors have identified 19 private drinking water wells and one public water well at the base with levels of perfluorinated compounds deemed to be at or above the health advisory levels set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Inspectors have identified 19 private drinking water wells and one public water well with levels of perfluorinated compounds deemed to be at or above the health advisory levels set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a statement from the U.S. Air Force.
“It’s not a regulation.” Kinkade said the levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), which are present in Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), were detected during an enterprisewide effort to detect those levels.
More than 200 installations, including the former Reese Air Force Base, were inspected, according to a news release from the Air Force.
According to an Air Force Response to PFOS and PFOA webpage through the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center website, which Kinkade referred to, AFFF has been used since the 1970s.
Inspections of the water wells around the former Reese Air Force Base began in November, according to a news release from the U.S. Air Force.
“We purchase our water from the city of Lubbock — we have since the Air Force left,” Musa said.
The former base has had water contamination issues before.
The PFOA and PFOS contamination is unrelated, Musa said.
Drinking water wells within a mile and in the direction of groundwater flow of the former base were tested, according to the news release.

OOwners of water wells should have their wells tested to make sure the water is safe to drink and use.
Well owners are encouraged to take advantage of a program sponsored by the Texas Well Owner Network, which provides free water well screenings in seven area counties.
The extensive flooding brought on by Harvey may have caused bacterial and chemical contamination of water wells, which can be harmful to humans, animals and plants.
Until the water has been screened for various contaminants and found to be safe, anyone using untested well water should switch to using bottled, boiled or treated water for consumption and hygiene purposes.
The flooded septic systems that may have compromised nearby water wells are also a cause for concern.
By participating in the free water screenings, well owners can have water samples tested for common contaminants, including E. coli bacteria, nitrates and salinity.
The kit has full instructions detailing how to take a water sample.
The water sample will be taken to one of the free well water screenings.
Test results will be made available the next day at the follow-up meeting, at which time well owners will be instructed on how to take corrective measures to ensure the safety of their well water for consumption and other uses.
This opinion reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate’s editorial board.

Homes on private wells could continue watering their lawns during a drought even when homes connected to municipal systems have to stop, under a bill being considered in the state Legislature.
“Private wells are private property and this has always been the legal tradition – we have what are called riparian rights,” said Rep. Daniel Itse, R-Fremont, the prime sponsor of the bill, HB 1226.
Itse argues that in such a case, property owners should be paid by communities to compensate them for not being able to use their wells.
“If the state were to allow damages to the property owner, for loss of property, that would be acceptable,” he said.
“It’s a continuing encroachment upon property rights, a change in the terms under which property was bought.
The government needs to be held accountable for that.” The bill would still allow municipalities to limit outdoor water usage by homes connected to public water supplies.
In the summer, total water use increases to 93 gallons per capita per day due to outdoor water use, which is mostly attributed to lawn watering,” according to the 2017 municipal drought guidelines issued by the Department of Environmental Services.
The current law (RSA 41:11-d) says communities can restrict “residential outdoor lawn watering when administrative agencies of the state or federal government have designated the region as being under a declared state or condition of drought.” There have been efforts to expand the authority by allowing municipalities to keep business from doing outdoor watering as well as private residents but those have not gone anywhere in the Legislature.
Last year a version passed both houses but was sent back to committee, where it effectively died.
(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313 or dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek)

Researchers in the Dartmouth Toxic Metals Superfund Research Program have found that one out of every five private wells in New Hampshire has a high probability of having dangerous levels of arsenic.
As a result, they have been working to raise awareness about arsenic poisoning through websites and community well testing events across New Hampshire in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
“The problem is for well water and private water sources that aren’t regulated,” Director of Dartmouth Toxic Metals Superfund Research Program Bruce Stanton said.
Kathrin Lawlor, the program’s community engagement coordinator, said that approximately 46 percent of New Hampshire residents access their water from private wells.
Stanton said arsenic naturally occurs in certain types of bedrock that underlie the state of New Hampshire.
As a result, the College and state organizations both have websites designed to increase education about arsenic, called “Arsenic and You” and “Be Well Informed.” The latter of which includes a tool allowing people to enter well test results and receive customized treatment options.
“A lot of people mean to test their wells but they never get around to testing their wells,” Lawlor said.
“It’s tough sometimes to convince people that arsenic — something that’s odorless, colorless and tasteless — is having an adverse health effect,” he said.
He added that although certain areas are prone to higher concentrations of arsenic in ground water, wells have been found all over the state that contain drinking water with high levels of arsenic.
The EPA maximum contaminant level does not necessarily indicate a safe level of exposure, said Paul Susca, who works in the New Hampshire Environmental Services’ Drinking Water Source Protection Program.

just because flood waters have receded doesn’t mean well water is safe.
According to the experts, water wells, water tanks and ponds on the farm or ranch can be contaminated initially by storm surge or flood waters, but the risk of contamination can also come from the slower infiltration of contaminates that filter more slowly into the water table, which can increase the chance of a delayed or secondary well contamination.
While the risk of re-contamination is low, Extension specialist warn that many rural residents failed to test their water following the hurricane, usually because they believed floodwater or storm surge may not have reached or affected their well system.
In Victoria County, for instance, Diane Boellstorff, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service water resource specialist in College Station, advises rural residents that private water well owners whose wells flooded from the recent rains should assume their well water is contaminated until tested.
For well owners located in the Texas counties that were declared a federal disaster area following Hurricane Harvey, free test kits were available for a limited time, which has now expired.
To find out the availability of free test kits in your county, check with your local Texas AgriLife Extension Agent.
For those living in counties where free kits are still available, private well owners can pick up a test kit from their local AgriLife Extension office or other designated location, but must be able to return the sample to their local office from 8a.m.
Samples must be collected and returned on the date listed on the sampling kit.
Collection day and sample drop-off must be completed on the same day.
For private well owners who failed to test their water before the deadline to receive free test kits can also choose to have samples tested for microbial contamination by accredited laboratories across Texas.

In assessing how frequently hydraulic fracturing takes place close to a public water supply, a 2016 EPA report said that drinking water supplies located near hydraulic fracturing sites are more likely to be impacted should a contamination event occur.
The investigators amassed a large database of private drinking water wells and compared their locations to hydraulic fracturing sites.
This knowledge is important to maintaining high-quality water in many domestic wells," said co-author Jasechko, an assistant professor at UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management.
"Our results underscore the importance of increased water monitoring efforts near both hydraulically fractured and conventional oil and gas wells in ascertaining the risk of contamination and in protecting water well quality."
"These hotspots are areas where, in light of potential contamination mechanisms, limited resources for assessing spill frequency and well integrity could be used more effectively and efficiently," explained Perrone, an assistant professor in UCSB’s environmental studies program.
Perrone noted that some hotspot areas include not only hydraulically fractured but also conventional oil and gas wells, which are more abundant.
"We can consider stronger policies that include requirements for repeated groundwater quality testing of the many domestic self-supply wells that exist close to hydraulic fracturing."
In fact, the scientists found vast differences in how states collect groundwater data.
"One policy recommendation would be to have a national standard for data collection on groundwater well construction," Perrone said.
More information: Scott Jasechko el al., "Hydraulic fracturing near domestic groundwater wells," PNAS (2017).