Published in the Ocean County Observer
BY EDDIE HOLLOWELL
STAFF WRITER
TOMS RIVER — Residents of 22 properties just south of Route 70 have been sent letters from the state Department of Environmental Protection recommending they stop using their irrigation wells until the state completes its investigation of ground water contamination.
DEP officials said testing in that particular section of North Dover has shown benzene, a known carcinogen, in some irrigation wells at levels more than a thousand times greater than is considered acceptable.
"If this were a drinking-water situation we would have taken action weeks ago," said Ed Putnam, assistant director of the DEP Site Remediation and Waste Management Program.
State officials said they were only midway through the investigation, but held a special meeting Tuesday night to update residents on what had been done so far and what steps would be taken next.
As early as July 17, the DEP will begin Phase 2 of the process, which will include further well and indoor air sampling, mapping out the extent of the contamination and searching for its source. Officials said one or more facilities along Route 9 in Lakewood might be the source of the contamination, but have not ruled out a potential source in the residential area.
The state has been testing drinking water and irrigation wells, and taking sub-slab soil, gas and indoor air samples since April, officials said. The investigation is in response to reports that three residents found contaminants in their wells late last year.
The DEP mailed letters to approximately 75 property owners to identify wells for sampling, but only received 36 responses, officials said.
Mayor Paul C. Brush urged residents near North Maple Avenue who have not had their wells tested to contact the DEP and arrange for testing as soon as possible.
"It's in your best interest to know what the situation is with your well," Brush said.
Primarily, two contaminants have been found to exceed Ground Water Quality Standards. They are benzene, a widely used chemical formed from both natural processes and human activities, and 1,2-dichloroethane, a manufactured chemical also known as ethylene dichloride.
"The benzene is really the contaminant of concern," Putnam said.
Through its testing, the DEP identified 15 irrigation wells with levels of benzene up to 1,086 parts per billion and 1,2-dichloroethane up to 46 ppb. The Ground Water Quality Standards for these substances are 1 and 2 ppb, respectively, officials said. The 22 property owners to be sent letters recommending they stop using irrigation wells include those 15 properties and their neighbors.
Since 2005, two drinking water wells have been found with higher than acceptable levels of benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane. Sampling at one well on Ronda Road in fall 2005 indicated benzene at 125 ppb and 1,2-dichloroethane at 5.5 ppb. Last month, sampling at a potable well on Locust Street in Lakewood found benzene at 124 ppb and later at 75.4 ppb.
A whole-house water treatment system was installed on both properties with funding through the DEP Spill Compensation Fund.
The remedy for irrigation wells is not as simple, officials said, because neither the federal government nor any states have standards for domestic irrigation wells. However, site-specific assessments of risk due to the presence of contaminants in well water have been done in New Jersey and elsewhere.
In the coming weeks, DEP officials will work with the state Department of Health and Senior Services, Ocean County Health Department and Dover Township to address potential health impacts from irrigation wells to provide additional guidance on the use, restrictions or closure of contaminated wells, officials said.
North Dover has been known to have contaminants since 1993 when the Ocean County Health Department identified five drinking-water wells along North Maple Avenue that were contaminated with volatile organic compounds above acceptable levels, officials said.
Data from the indoor air samples are under review, but officials said preliminary results look promising.
"It appears from the preliminary data that we're going to have good news and that (the contaminants affecting the air quality in the home) won't be a threat," Putnam said.
For more information, contact Mark Herzberg, DEP Community Relations, at (609) 633-1369; Sharon Kubiak, Department of Health and Senior Services, at (609) 584-5367; or Robert Ingenito, Ocean County Health Department, at (732) 341-9700, ext. 7415.
Published in the Ocean County Observer on 06/29/06
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