Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : Chevron and City Told to Clean Up Foul Water

The California Regional Water Quality Control Board has ordered Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and the city to clean up ground water contaminated more than six years ago by a gas station, a spokeswoman for the board said.

The station, which was at 2051 E. Edinger Ave. in Santa Ana, leaked gasoline that has percolated into the ground water, resulting in extremely high contamination levels, according to Dixie Lass, senior geologist for the state agency, which oversees water quality issues in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The contamination levels range from .051 parts per million in less concentrated samples to 22,000 parts per million in wells that contained pure gas floating on the surface, Lass said.

However, the most common readings taken from wells were 10 to 30 parts per million of benzene, an identified carcinogen, Lass said. This amount is still many times stronger than the state “action level” of .7 parts per billion, at which the risk of cancer increases.

In accordance with last week’s order, a work plan detailing how the water will be purified must be submitted to the regional board by June 17, Lass said. Once a plan is approved, Chevron, which will be doing the work, will have two weeks to begin cleaning up.