Tainted wells have residents concerned

By Sue Loughlin

TERRE HAUTE — Dawn Langer operates a day care at 3723 Plum St., across Lost Creek and south of some homes that have shown well water contamination on Terre Haute’s north side.

She stopped serving children well water as soon as she learned about an issue with groundwater contamination, and on Wednesday, she had her well privately tested.

She attended a meeting conducted by Standard Register on Tuesday night and talked with their representatives after the meeting. She hopes the company will test her well water soon.

“We’re worried,” she said.

She’s been serving her day-care children juices and bottled water instead of well water. Many residents living near her day care have well water and are concerned about possible contamination and also would like to be tested.

So far, Standard Register primarily has been testing homes in an area bounded by Maple Avenue, Lost Creek and 38th Street.

The company says it’s addressing problems based on environmental testing that consistently shows a plume of contamination extending southwest of Terre Haute North Vigo High School. That testing does not indicate the plume is moving directly south, they have said.

But officials also indicated Tuesday that studies and testing will continue to determine if the plume extends farther.

“I’d like to see them test everybody in this area,” Langer said. She’d like to see that all of her neighbors have access to Indiana-American water.

She hopes to know by Friday the results of private testing.

The company has offered to connect up to 25 properties to Indiana-American Water Co. Also, it will provide a lump sum payment of $3,400 to 12 of those property owners to offset future water bills.

“We are staying true to our original plan, which is to provide safe drinking water to the neighborhood,” Bob Sadowski, Standard Register spokesman, said Wednesday.

But those who live just outside the boundaries identified by the company remain concerned. Many of them spoke during Tuesday’s meeting.

The Terre Haute City Council has formed a committee to investigate the problem, and it has hired attorney Bill Drummy to provide legal counsel.

The city’s position is that Standard Register immediately should connect to Indiana-American those residents directly affected by contamination, as well as those who could “reasonably be affected,” Drummy said.

The number of homes that could be “reasonably affected” remains to be determined through continued and additional testing, he said. The city may elect to use an outside expert for an independent review of the problem.

Drummy believes the 25 homes Standard Register has offered to connect is too low.

He also believes the testing area must be expanded and include the other side of Lost Creek, where Langer has a day care and many residents have wells.

Drummy also suggested that for those who must be connected to Indiana-American, Standard Register should pay their water bills indefinitely — or at least until they sell or transfer their property. As it is, the company is offering the lump sum payment of $3,400 to 12 of those property owners.

The City Council believes those who agree to have their homes connected should not have to sign a release form, which is limited to property damages associated with switching a property from a private well to Indiana-American water services.

Standard Register, working through environmental consultant QEPI, is developing an extensive remediation work plan that will be submitted to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and IDEM must approve it. It will involve studying an area that extends well beyond the Edgebrook neighborhood, officials said.

Once that plan goes to IDEM, City Councilman Norm Loudermilk anticipates the state will conduct a hearing, during which the public can again provide input and the City Council will push for Standard Register to do more than it has proposed so far.

He’s concerned about recent test results that show two new residences tested high for perchloroethylene, or PCE, bringing the total to seven. The substance is an industrial cleaning solvent.

Also, several of those that tested high previously now show even higher levels of PCE.

One home on Maple Avenue that previously tested at 57.6 ppb more recently tested at 88.1 ppb. Next door, a residence that tested at 28.7 now tests at 41.8 ppb. Another that had tested at 41.2 now is testing at 60.3, Loudermilk said. The EPA residential limit for PCE is 5 ppb.

Mike Potter of QEPI said the higher testing levels could be caused by seasonable fluctuations in the water table or sampling technique. “Any two samples are going to vary … We have to wait to take more samples to try to decipher a trend,” he said

Standard Register does not acknowledge that it caused the contamination problems, although it formerly owned property at 1251 N. Fruitridge Ave., where it printed labels before closing in spring 2006.