Local News in Brief : Water Cleanup Plan Asked
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has authorized local water officials to begin planning a Burbank treatment system that may be the next phase in the attempted cleanup of contaminated San Fernando Valley ground water supplies under the federal Superfund program.
Such a treatment system--which would restore Burbank’s polluted drinking water wells and slow the seepage of toxic contaminants toward Los Angeles and Glendale wells--could be operating in about two years, according to Ron McCoy, assistant chief engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP).
Water from seven of Burbank’s 10 municipal wells contains excessive levels of industrial cleaning compounds that are suspected of causing cancer under conditions of chronic exposure. Burbank has shut down the remaining three wells to avoid drawing in polluted ground water from nearby areas.
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