By Carrie Simmons, Westford Eagle Staff Writer
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Although water samples taken last year came back clean, the Stepinski Well could be at risk for perchlorate contamination, according to the town's environmental consultant.
Richard Cote of Comprehensive Environmental Inc. said his firm will work with the Westford Water Department in the next few weeks to reclaim and sample old monitoring wells between the Stepinski and Cote wells in hopes of getting out in front of the perchlorate plume.
Recent testing by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection indicated that the plume has migrated from a quarry pond at the top of Snake Meadow Hill, where bedrock has been blasted historically by Brothers Sand and Gravel Company and recently for the new Highway facility, toward surface water at lower elevations, including the Stony Brook.
"The primary issues have been addressed," said Cote. "Now they are trying to get ahead of it."
Shallow wells will be installed adjacent to the deeper monitoring wells that go down 60 to 70 feet to the top of the bedrock where experts think the perchlorate is settling to determine if the contaminant is moving through the bedrock in addition to traveling via surface water flow.
Environmental engineers hope testing will help them understand the amount of perchlorate heading toward the aquifer and the Cote Well so they can determine the treatment method and cost.
The Cote Well was taken offline in July after sampling indicated perchlorate at a level of 3.3 parts per billion. The well has not been tested since last summer because it is no longer pumping water, however, monitoring wells near the Cote Well have tested positive for perchlorate at levels between 58 and 180 parts per billion.
Water Department officials are worried about being down one well this summer if the season is drier than last summer and the demand for water increases.
The Water Department already limits outdoor watering from May 1 to Oct. 30 each year when demand is highest. Properties with odd numbered street addresses can water on the odd days of the month, while properties with even numbered street addresses can water on the even days of the month.
"You might see a full-time ban this year if we don't do something with Cote," Water Superintendent Warren Sweetser said Tuesday.
Although the Water Department does not own or pump water from the Stepinski Well, it could be used as a backup if pressures on the public water supply increase before the Cote Well is treated, according to Cote.
The state-approved Stepinski Well is located on a 107-acre parcel owned by brothers Hank, Mortimer and James Stepinski. The land abuts East Boston Camps and the Veterans Memorial Complex where the Cote Well is located.
Voters appropriated $700,000 in community preservation funds for the Stepinski land acquisition in November 2003 for water resource protection, open space preservation and passive recreation. The Water Department committed $500,000 from its budget for the purchase of the land appraised at $1.2 million in December 2002.
The purchase was put on the back burner because of the East Boston Camps land acquisition, according to town officials.
Cote told the Board of Health Tuesday that private wells on Groton Road to the north of the contaminated quarry pond that lay in the bedrock fracture zones could also be at risk for contamination and recommended that a second round of testing be done in the spring when water levels are highest.