Mayor Gambatese: We could have problems with meeting demand (for water)
By: Paul Koepp
There could be a need for restrictions on lawn watering and car washing this summer, the Township Council warned Tuesday as it took the first step toward cleaning up two contaminated groundwater supply wells in Dayton.
The council introduced a $3 million bond ordinance to fund the removal of naturally occurring radium contamination from the wells, No. 11 by Indian Fields School and No. 13 on Georges Road.
However, no cleanup plan has been adopted to address the problem, which council members said they hoped to have fixed by the end of the summer.
"This is going to be expensive. We all know that," said Councilman Charlie Carley.
Mayor Frank Gambatese said that if the summer is long and hot, "we could have problems with meeting demand" for water, adding that many other towns have the same problem.
Township Finance Officer Joe Monzo said the ordinance was introduced so the council can adopt it at the July 24 council meeting if necessary. If the cleanup can be accomplished and paid for by another method, the bond ordinance could be defeated, he said.
"We thought we should not waste July" while a solution is being sought, Mr. Monzo said. Mayor Frank Gambatese said the state Department of Environmental Protection has said it would block construction permits for any project that would require a water supply until the wells are cleaned up.
Township spokesman Ron Schmalz said the DEP’s stance could block building plans by homeowners and businesses that come before the township Planning Board.
The DEP, acting under new federal Environmental Protection Agency guidelines put in place in 2003 to test drinking water for radioactivity, found earlier this year that the wells contain marginally excessive levels of common radioactive contaminants, including gross alpha particles and combined radium 226/228.
However, township officials said the result is due to new testing procedures that check for contaminants at well heads rather than at faucets where water is actually drawn. Township officials said that when water from the wells was used, it was mixed with the rest of the water supply, diluting the contaminants to harmless levels. They also said that many other towns have had the same problems since the new testing guidelines were put in place.
The recently measured level of gross alpha particles was between 20 and 27 picocuries per liter, above the limit of 15. The level of combined radium 226/228 was between 6.6 and 7.7 pCi/L, above the limit of 5. People who drink water with excessive levels of the contaminants for many years could be at increased risk of cancer.
The wells, which only operated during dry summers, have been shut down, and the contamination never posed a short-term health risk, according to a letter sent to township residents in May, which also said that there was no need to use bottled water. At the time, township officials said township-wide restrictions could eventually be imposed on washing cars and watering lawns to conserve water.
The township will buy any extra water it needs from the Elizabethtown Water Company, which supplies most of the township’s water from clean, surface-water reservoirs, Mr. Schmalz said.

