Raleigh
Jan 18, 2013
RALEIGH – Today, the N.C. Division of Waste Management announced plans to use emergency funds to supply two homes with clean drinking water supplies in an east Raleigh neighborhood where pesticide contamination has been found in drinking water wells.
Also, officials with the N.C. Division of Water Quality have been going door-to-door and sending letters to residents of the unincorporated neighborhood near Bond Street and Trawick Road to request that residents with wells near the known contamination allow the state agency to sample their household wells. The state agency will sample wells at no cost to residents in order to determine the extent of the contamination and whether any health risks can be identified.
The investigation started after a resident requested that Wake County sample his well for pesticides. The well was sampled by the county and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The samples revealed the presence of dieldrin and chlordane – two pesticides commonly used from the 1940s to the 1980s to control termites around building foundations and insects on farms and gardens.
Of the 30 wells sampled so far, 16wells exceed the groundwater or drinking water standards for one or more chemicals. The chemicals that have been identified in those wells include dieldrin; chlordane; heptachlor epoxide, a chemical formed during the environmental breakdown of the pesticide heptachlor; and perchloroethylene, a chemical solvent used in dry cleaning and as a degreasing agent in automotive and metalwork industries. No specific source for the contaminants can be identified at this time.
Officials with the N.C. Division of Waste Management, who administer the Bernard Allen Memorial Emergency Drinking Water Fund, plan to use funds to start supplying alternative water to two households where the contamination exceeded groundwater or drinking water standards. One home is to be supplied with bottled water and a water service while the other is to receive bottled water and a filter on the line attached to the household plumbing. The division is trying to determine if four other households would qualify for help from the Bernard Allen fund. Eligibility for Bernard Allen funds is determined based on health risk standards for drinking water associated with the specific contaminant and income level. Bernard Allen funds can be used to cover all or part of the costs for an alternative water source.
The neighborhood near Bond Street and Trawick Road is in an area that has not been annexed by the city and does not receive city services such as water and sewer. Each sampled household will be notified of the well sample results. If contaminants are detected in a well sample, the results are sent to a state toxicologist in the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The toxicologist reviews the data and performs a health risk assessment for the well owner. The health risk assessment describes any suggested restrictions on consumption or other well water use.
A map showing the location of sampled wells and additional information about the Division of Water Quality’s investigation, the chemicals involved and what homeowners can do if their well is contaminated is available on the division’s website at: www.ncwaterquality.org . Go to the Hot Topics section of the DWQ homepage and click “Bond Street Investigation.” This website will be updated regularly as the investigation continues.