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Richard Piatt Reporting A plume of contaminated ground water needs to be cleaned up in Salt Lake City. Step one is letting thousands of people who live near 700 South and 1500 East know the problem exists.
This is a problem that doesn't present immediate danger, the drinking water is safe, but the ground water needs to be cleaned up, and just knowing that is alarming some people.
Joel Green isn't afraid to take a drink from his tap tonight, but a letter from his city councilman is making him think twice about that cup of water.
Joel Green: “Any sort of contamination of the water is something to take seriously.”
Green and thousands of his neighbors each got the letter Wednesday, notifying them there is a plume of contaminated ground water nearby. The plume is deep underground in this area of approximately 700 South and 1600 East.
The contamination is identified as PCE, dry cleaning solvent. Extremely low levels have been detected in a city drinking water well near this reservoir. But city officials say there is no cause for alarm.
Jeff Niemeyer, Salt Lake City Public Utilities: “So there's no detection that any of the contaminant is getting into drinking water that people get in their taps.”
The city well isn't far from the possible source, an old dry cleaning operation associated with the VA hospital. Now the task is figuring out how to pay for cleanup, a job that will probably cost millions of dollars.
Councilman Dave Buhler is letting people in the Harvard Yale neighborhood know that a 'Superfund Site' designation is one option, and he wants to let them know about it all now.
Dave Buhler, Salt Lake City Council: "It's not an imminent risk, but over the next several years it could be a risk, so we need to act now so it doesn't become a problem."
Councilman Buhler is holding a public meeting next Wednesday to answer questions about the ground water. It starts at 7 pm at Bonneville Elementary School.
In addition to the Superfund designation, Buhler is also pursuing other federal funding options so the city isn't stuck paying the tab.
