Published in the Ocean County Observer
By MARGARET F. BONAFIDE
Staff Writer
TOMS RIVER -- United Water explained to the Dover Township Committee last night why it recently turned on a well with elevated radiation levels.
With two wells down for repairs last week, unseasonably hot temperatures and a lengthy period of limited rain, United Water said it decided to turn on Well 20 on Indian Head Road. Over the past 4-1/2 years, Well 20 has been used sporadically because of the elevated levels of naturally occurring radiation.
This action was the basis of much criticism at last night's committee meeting.
The presentation was given by George Flegal, United Water general manager, and Ulysses Diaz, its public relations representative.
The water from Well 20 is at a borderline level of being acceptable, Flegal said. The water drawn from Well 20 is blended with water with less contaminants before being delivered to the public, he added.
Committeemen John F. Russo Jr. and John M. Furey rejected Flegal's explanation and were critical of the water company, calling for the shutdown of wells near the toxic plume from the Reich Farm Superfund site, which seeped into the parkway well field off Dugan Lane, a mile south of Reich Farm.
Furey also criticized legislation introduced by the 10th District legislators that would provide funding to add carbon filtration systems on three wells, numbers 20, 24 and 44. The legislation would appropriate $2.25 million for the filters and fund it from a corporate business tax.
Furey said the legislation is "a Band-aid on a bigger problem."
Ralph Hahn, a legislative aide for Sen. Andrew Ciesla, and Assemblymen James Holzapfel and David Wolfe, 10th District Republicans, said the legislation was drafted after meeting with representatives from the Citizens Action Committee on Childhood Cancer Cluster and representatives from United Water.
Flegal and Diaz insisted that the governing body and residents understand that Well 20 does meet the state Department of Environmental Protection's standards for radioactive materials even before it's blended with untainted water.
Members of the governing body asked Flegal and Diaz to make an adjustment to the notification system it uses to turn on wells that have typically been shut down.
Diaz said the Department of Environmental Protection mandates that the water company notify it that they are turning on a well. Diaz said he would work out a process where the governing body is notified. He also said he had called to notify the township out of courtesy and left a message with a "young woman" who answered the telephone in the mayor's office.
Published on May 10, 2001
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