Lesson From the 1950s: Spill Ruined Town’s Well
It doesn’t take a lot of improper dumping to spoil a ground water supply, as another community with TCE-contaminated water found.
Like wells in the Valley, a town well in Charlevoix, Mich., ended up on the Superfund toxic cleanup list because of TCE contamination. Water in the town well contained TCE levels of about 100 parts per billion, well over the amount considered safe to drink over a long period of time.
According to John Perrecone, an EPA official in Chicago, the agency’s investigation showed that a seemingly minor incident 30 years ago was solely responsible.
In the 1950s, during construction at a school about one-quarter mile from the well, an estimated 15 to 20 gallons of TCE was spilled or dumped on the ground. The chemical evidently seeped into the ground and reached the town well, where it was detected in 1981.
The EPA is spending $3.5 million under the Superfund program to build the town an alternate supply using water from Lake Michigan, Perrecone said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
