Water Worries Tapped Cda Citizens Concerned About Contamination

People worry they won’t get adequate warning when trichloroethylene pollution increases in city water.

Some don’t trust what they are being told about the health risks of drinking water that contains traces of the solvent, they told state and federal officials Wednesday night. Some are worried about who will pay for cleaning up the drinking water.

About 40 citizens went to City Hall to ask questions and express frustration over the contamination.

The meeting was held by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality. The audience asked for another meeting before the end of the year.

The agencies are searching for the source of a TCE plume in the ground water under Coeur d’Alene. The size of the plume and the concentration of TCE are unknown, but the TCE is expected to flow toward Post Falls.

Meanwhile, people want to know what it means when the water they drink has traces of the industrial solvent, commonly used in everything from automotive shops to dry cleaners. There is a “possible risk” of cancer if TCE-tainted water is consumed over a lifetime, said Steve Tanner of DEQ.

That wasn’t much comfort to some in the audience, who question whether there is a “safe exposure level” of any carcinogen. Others said they believe TCE also causes liver, kidney and reproductive system damage.

EPA officials promised to find out if TCE problems go beyond cancer.

If TCE levels in the city’s Hanley Avenue well again exceeds federal standards, one man asked, will people read about it in the newspaper after having used the water for a couple of months?

No, city officials assured him. The newspapers are called as soon as the problem appears.

TCE was found first in the Hanley well in 1992. Levels of the pollutant exceeded federal standards for the first time this May.

The city is sampling the water twice a month, more frequently than federal law requires, and hasn’t found contamination above federal limits since spring. The well will have to exceed TCE limits for a year before it has to be closed.

The Hanley well normally is run year-round and has been the sole source of city water during winter the past few years. It will be idled this year to see if the contamination subsides, said Jim Markley, city water superintendent.

Cleanup of TCE is impractical, DEQ officials said. At best, it’s a matter of cleaning up the worst sources of contamination.

EPA has looked at 26 possible sites and is investigating more. While it has no ironclad culprit, Deming Industries is suspected of being one of many sources.

Mike Deming, general manager of the metal-plating company, said it is voluntarily removing contaminated soil from its property. Still, “we don’t know if we contributed or not,” Deming said.

Meanwhile, attention needs to turn to prevention “to avoid future problems like this,” said Dick Martindale, of the Panhandle Health District.

, DataTimes