By Courtney Dentch
The water pumped into the city’s drinking supply from 12 wells in southeast Queens is safe to drink, an independent consulting firm hired by area politicians reported at a town hall meeting Tuesday.
Water samples taken from the 12 wells that are online showed trace amounts of organic materials such as iron and manganese, and elevated levels of sodium but all were within acceptable state and federal regulations, said Brad Kargl, section manager for water supply and wastewater at Marin Environmental.
“The water tested was generally in compliance with state and federal quality standards,” he told an audience of about 150 people.
But samples taken from three other wells not contributing to the water supply showed the presence of tetrachloroethylene, or PERC, a dry cleaning chemical, Kargl said.
The testing grew out of a proposal from the city Department of Environmental Protection to use wells left dormant by the Jamaica Water Supply to ease the drought that was forecast for this summer. But the community was concerned about contaminants in the groundwater system, said state Assemblyman William Scarborough (D-St. Albans), one of the meeting’s sponsors.
“Given what we knew about what happened here with the water, there were serious concerns about turning those wells on.” Scarborough said. “Some people were not quite prepared just to take the city’s word on the quality of the water.”
In addition to Department of Health testing that is required before water can be added to the drinking supply, the community demanded that tests be completed by an independent laboratory.
Marin Environmental was hired to do simultaneous tests with the DEP, Kargl said. Both groups went out together and took their own samples, to be sent out to independent labs, he said.
“The general analyses we got were uncannily very close,” Kargl said.
But the community still had its suspicions about the quality since DEP had put up the funds to pay for Marin’s work. The tests cost about $250,000, money that the community did not have, Scarborough said.
To ensure the integrity of the test results, provisions were written into the contract with DEP that prohibited the city agency from interfering with Marin’s testing and from taking punitive action against the firm should its results differ from the city’s, Scarborough said.
“We’re trying very hard to win your confidence,” said DEP Deputy Commissioner Doug Greeley. “It’s important for you to know your water is safe.”
The community was also upset about the high levels of sodium in the water. The average sample found 33 mg of sodium per liter of water, Kargl said.
“This is a big concern because there are a lot of people in the community with high blood pressure,” Scarborough said.
Warnings must be sent to warn people who have a sodium-restricted diet that their drinking water has high levels of sodium, but the levels are still within the allowable range of 30 to 60 mg per liter as set by the Environmental Protection Agency, said Donald Cohen, an engineer with DEP consultant Malcolm Pirnie.
Some people, however, were not interested in hearing the explanations.
“I don’t know if you are hearing what the community is saying,” said Rev. Charles Norris. “We don’t want no well water at all.”
If the drought that struck this summer continues, the well water may be needed to supplement the surface water coming from the upstate reservoirs, said state Assemblywoman Barbara Clark (D-Queens Village).
“We are supposed to have surface water, not groundwater,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt to have a backup water supply, but we need it to be clean.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com, or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 138.
