While officials continue to tackle perchlorate contamination on many fronts, recent tests on water from a well shut down five years ago showed levels of the suspected carcinogen still requiring specific action.
In April 2012, a well identified by officials at the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency as Well V-205 was voluntarily shut down after low concentrations of perchlorate were found.
The MCL is the state-set threshold for how much perchlorate can be found in water before it requires “treatment action.” This well was taken out of service long before the levels reached the MCL, according to water officials.
“Treatment to remove perchlorate is an established and proven technology,” said Leserman.
Out-of-service well Since first detected in groundwater wells in the Santa Clarita Valley in 1997, the predecessors to the new SCV Water (formerly Newhall County Water District, Santa Clarita Water Division, Valencia Water Company and Castaic Lake Water Agency) have worked diligently with state environmental and health regulators to address the problem and seek reimbursement for groundwater cleanup and replacement water supply costs from responsible parties, the Whittaker Corp. and its insurers.
Through extensive technical investigations, best practices were identified for control strategies, as well as the most effective and least costly treatment processes.
The result, according to SCV Water Agency officials, is a state-of-the-art Saugus Perchlorate Treatment Facility near Lowe’s off Bouquet Canyon Road, at the same location as SCV Water’s Rio Vista Intake Pump Station.
It began delivering treated groundwater in January 2011.
As a result of all those “operations,” a known perchlorate contaminant plume has been identified in the SCV and several wells have tested positive for perchlorate.
The cleaned water, according to the plan, will be discharged into the Santa Clara River watershed to recharge SCV’s groundwater.