Contaminated Water Pumped From Jet Jam Site

Pumps began draining about 15 million gallons of water into the sewer system Thursday from the makeshift lake created for last weekend’s Jet Jam ’96.

Organizers of the sports and entertainment event, held at the Pond of Anaheim and the adjacent Santa Ana River, had hoped to recycle the water for drinking. But they discovered that the water contains high levels of gasoline-related chemicals and is not fit for human consumption or for irrigation.

“We wanted to have the water totally reused by the community, and we took every precaution,” said John Nicoletti, spokesman for the Pond. “It’s a disappointment for us. . . . We were told all long that we would be able to return this for drinking water, and now we’re told this was not true.”

A temporary lake was built on a portion of the Santa Ana River for the watercraft event, which featured 200 competitors.

Orange County Water District officials said their analysis indicates that the gasoline contaminants probably came from the competitors’ watercraft, but event organizers disagreed.

“Logic would lead to the” watercraft, said Jim Van Haun, assistant to the water district’s general manager. He said the water was safe when it was pumped into the temporary lake.

“We just have no other source” for the contamination, Van Haun said.

He said the district had monitored the water quality before, during and after the event and planned to buy the water--enough to serve 100 average households for a year.

Ric Miller, president of United Sports Entertainment, one of the event’s organizers, said he is not convinced that the contamination came from the watercraft.

Miller said the competitors use racing fuel, which does not contain the gasoline-related chemicals found in the water.

“We’re absolutely puzzled,” he said. Miller said the company is still investigating the source of the contamination.

Organizers bought the 15 million gallons of water from the cities of Anaheim and Orange.

Officials said it will take several days to empty the water from the 1,000-foot-long, 360-foot-wide temporary lake. The water is expected to be drained by the weekend. It will be treated before it is sent on its way to the ocean.

The water, Van Haun said, cannot be used for irrigation because there is no reclaimed-water system in that North County area.

“All of us were hoping it would be recycled and pumped back into the ground water, but it wasn’t acceptable to us,” he said.