Moorestown residents group balks at plan to reopen wells

A plan to reopen wells in Moorestown that were shut because of contamination is drawing continuing resistance from a group of residents.

Two wells in the Burlington County township were shut down because they were found to be tainted by the chemical 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP).

Township Manager Scott Carew said Moorestown officials have proposed an interim treatment plan to the state Department of Environmental Protection that will reduce harmful compounds like TCP in the wells.

The man-made substance typically is found at industrial and hazardous-waste sites and is considered a likely carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency.

According to Carew, the township is waiting on DEP approval to move forward, so a timeline for the project has not been determined.

But a coalition of residents called the Moorestown Water Group is concerned because the proposed interim treatment plan does not also address radiological contaminants.

"If you're going to put the well back on and use a system that's going to treat it and clean it up, why wouldn't you address all the chemicals and all the toxins in the water?" asked Kati Angelini, a member of the group who is running for the township council.

She said about 30 residents aired such concerns at a meeting this week.

Angelini, a mother of three, recalled that one resident said she was worried about the health of the community's children.

Carew said the radiological contaminants, known as radionuclides, will be reduced when the township constructs a permanent facility for the wells, which Carew hopes will be in 12 to 18 months.

Although radionuclides are present in the water, current levels do not constitute a "maximum contaminant level" (MCL) violation, Carew said.

According to EPA regulations, towns must monitor for radionuclides every three to nine years. If the level detected is higher than the MCL, the town must monitor levels quarterly.

Carew said that in 2014 a test showed levels above the MCL for gross alpha and radium, two radionuclides in the wells.

After reopening one well, Moorestown monitored it quarterly in 2015, until it was shut down again in February because of continuing TCP concerns.

But one reading over the maximum level does not constitute a violation, Carew said. For a violation, the annual average must exceed the maximum.

The average contaminant levels in that well did not exceed the MCL for gross alpha or radium in 2015.

The township also conducted its own testing, not regulated by the EPA, for radium and gross alpha. Seven samples for each were collected between early August and mid-September 2015.

For radium, the levels averaged at 3.95 - below the maximum level of 5. For gross alpha, the average was 13.82, below the maximum of 15.

"The fact that we're going to put in permanent treatment anyway shows you the commitment that this town has to providing the safest drinking water possible," Carew said.

Angelini said the township should not wait until it has violated an MCL to address the radionuclides, and noted that the township addressed contaminants such as TCP before violations occurred.

Since the wells have been closed, the township has been purchasing water from New Jersey American Water.

Angelini said she knows that water is more costly than using the wells, but said she feels residents would be willing to continue to pay more for safer water.

"From what we've gathered at our meetings, residents would much rather pay a little more for fresh, clean, contaminant-free water than worry about drinking toxic water," Angelini said.

Carew said he believes the interim treatment will make the water as safe as the water the township is purchasing.

"If I was going to speculate, my assumption would be that what Moorestonians want is safe drinking water, and the truth of the matter is, we can provide that far more inexpensively than New Jersey American Water can," he said.

No members of Moorestown's council attended Tuesday's meeting, or any event held by the Moorestown Water Group, Angelini said.

The group is encouraging residents to attend the township's next council meeting, on Monday at 7 p.m.

856-779-3882 jmcguire@phillynews.com

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