Tainted well water remains
a concern on Main Street
By sandi carpello
Staff Writer
HELMETTA — After what they said has been a 12-year battle with local government officials to get clean water, several Main Street residents are wondering why their water is still contaminated.
The Middlesex County Public Health Department, which has tested water wells on Main Street several times in recent years, was expected to examine them once again this week.
Due to the absence of a water main, there are 16 Main Street homes which are solely dependent on well water. The majority of Helmetta homes receive their water supply through municipal lines tied to East Brunswick water system, and a small number of residences receive their supply from Monroe Township.
"We have been fighting for 12 years, and nothing will take the radium out of our water," said Jerry Everest, of 104 Main St., who has attempted to use filtration systems to clean his water. Everest said his water supply remains severely discolored, noting that it has tainted the color of his shower basin.
A water test on Everest’s property in June 2000 indicated that levels of radium were more than three times the recommended limit for a private well, according to county standards. Radium is a naturally occurring radioactive element that is present in varying amounts in the rocks and soil within the earth’s crust. Radium can be present in relatively low levels in surface water, but ground water may contain significant readings.
Councilman Edward Romano, of 116 Main St., said that his water contains radium levels five times the state’s recommended threshold.
"I am drinking contaminated water," he said, noting that consuming it would be particularly of risk to young children.
Borough resident Bill Reid, who owns a business at 107 Main St., said his water is both discolored and has a bad odor.
In addition to radium, the tests taken in June 2000 showed there was coliform present in the water, meaning the well water supply contained bacterial contamination and was not safe for consumption, according to the county health department’s report.
Everest said that although he and his family are drinking bottled water, they still use the water to bathe and cook food, he said.
According to Everest, Mayor Frank Hague told him he would have good water by August, but that the mayor did not keep his word.
Hague said that he was not to blame.
"We were prepared to install a water main in that area this year, but the council decided not to because of the huge tax hike," he said. "We would like to see (public) water in that area, but these well systems require maintenance. Some residents in that area said they would sue the borough if we made them hook up to city water because of their investments into new well systems."
Some council members felt that affording a water main for the Main Street residents should not be a top priority, according to Romano. He blamed other officials for wanting instead to use grant money for other projects more beneficial to themselves, he said.
County Health Department Water Coordinator Richard Spilatore said it is up to the municipality to decide whether it wants to provide Main Street residents with city water. Some residences on the street have had wells whose contamination was so extreme that their homes were required to be connected to the public water system.
If the borough is to provide the water main, it will be up to the residents to pay for individual connections.
Spilatore said that radium levels in the drinking water are a cause for concern. Drinking radium-contaminated water can possibly lead to cancer.
However, according to Spilatore, a person would need to drink 2 liters of radium-contaminated water each day for 70 years in order for it to have an adverse effect. Through water softeners and filtration systems, water with radium "can be monitored and treated on a daily basis," he said.
Residents, however, were still concerned. "Would you want to drink something that could cause cancer?" Everest asked.
Spilatore noted that a state law taking effect in September requires all homeowners to have their water tested, he said. The cost of the test is $120.
Romano, who said it has become his mission to get borough residents clean water, said the town will be able to put in a water main without having to bond or go further into debt. Although the cost of the water main would be approximately $140,000, revenue being generated through grant money and the rental of space on the water tower to telecommunications companies will help pay off the town’s existing debts.
The well water test results are expected to be available in approximately two weeks.