Enon water committee reveals test results

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ENON — The Village of Enon Drinking Water Source Protection Committee met Feb. 24 at the Enon Government Center to review the 2016 test results of the village’s drinking water source that supplies nearly 7,000 customers in western Clark County.

The eight-member committee, including Mayor Tim Howard, who serves as chair, Village Councilman Elmer Beard, Mad River Township Trustee Kathy Estep, Clark County Community Development Senior Planner Allan Neimayer, Speedway Corporation Environmental Consultant Eric Swaisgood, Enon Water Superintendent Steve Durall and village residents Marian Ladislaw and Jason Rose, represents a range of expertise and perspectives.

The committee reviewed the test results of water samples drawn from the village’s water treatment plant, four production wells, and several monitoring wells (early warning) wells within Enon’s wellhead protection area. The water samples were tested for 58 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including concentrations of Dibromochloromethane, 1,1-Dichloropropane, cis-1,2-Dichloroethene (DCE), Tetrachloroethene (PCE) and Trichloroethylene (TCE).

The village uses the Practical Quantification Limit (PQL) of 0.500 ug/l, established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to determine if any VOC levels exceed regulatory standards. Durall pointed out that the concentrations of VOCs detected in all the water samples in 2016 were below the maximum contaminant levels set by the EPA for drinking water quality.

Samples taken at the village water plant in April 2016 revealed 0.540 ug/l (micrograms per liter) of Dibromochloromethane, and test results in October 2016 showed 1.42 ug/l of cis-1,2-Dichloroethene, 2.30 ug/l of Tetrachloroethene and 1.15 ug/l of Trichloroethylene.

Samples retrieved from production well #1 in October 2016 detected 1.12 ug/l of 1,1-Dichloropropane. Durall noted that production wells #1 and #4 are generally clean of contaminants.

In February, test results of water samples drawn from production well #2 revealed 1.29 ug/l of Tetrachloroethene, which appeared again at a lower level of 0.76 ug/l in April, and 1.10 ug/l in October. Water samples taken from the well in October also revealed 0.670 ug/l of Trichloroethylene.

Durall reported that test results from production well #3 revealed consistent levels of contaminants throughout the year but no concentration of vinyl chloride. In February, test results

revealed 1.19 ug/l of cis-1,2-Dichloroethene, 2.61 ug/l of Tetrachloroethene, and 1.42 ug/l of Trichloroethylene.

The level of cis-1,2-Dichloroethene in well #3 decreased in May to 1.02 ug/l but increased to 1.89 ug/l in September, only to dropped again to 1.33 ug/l in October.

Samples taken from well #3 also showed a small variation in the levels of Tetrachloroethene. Findings revealed 2.73 ug/l of the VOC in May, 2.25 ug/l in September, and 2.68 in October.

The level of Trichloroethylene in well #3 decreased from 1.42 ug/l in February to 1.20 ug/l in May, but rose to 1.35 ug/l in September and 1.46 ug/l in October.

The water superintendent expressed his concerns about the test results from early monitoring well NC-4, which revealed a significant increase in levels of Tetrachloroethene and Trichloroethylene. Test results showed 5.08 ug/l of Tetrachloroethene in the water samples drawn in May, which more than doubled to 13.0 ug/l in September, and dropped slightly to 12.90 ug/l in October. In May, results of water samples from the monitoring well reveal 3.94 ug/l of Trichloroethylene. Those levels increased to 7.86 ug/l in September and remained at 7.86 ug/l in October.

“This monitoring well is located in front of the shelter house in the park and is close to the former Muncy Corporation site,” said Durall.

Water samples from monitoring well NC-2 detected 0.46 ug/l of Atrazine (SOC) in May, and monitoring well 10-A showed 0.710 ug/l of Tetrachloroethene in May and 0.52 ug/l of the VOC in November. Test results from the monitoring well at Enon Beach detected 0.751 ug/l of TPHC10-34 in June.

Enon Village Administrator Benjamin Ross told committee members that village officials visited several different businesses that are located within the drinking water source protection area and surveyed their premises for materials that could possibly contaminate the drinking water supply. He reported that the local businesses had managed or reduced any potential risks to the village’s drinking water source.

The committee also received a written response from the Ohio EPA regarding ongoing litigations against John Muncy and the late James Miller.

By Linda Collins

Fairborn Daily Herald

Linda Collins is a freelance reporter for Greene County News.

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