By Camas Frank ~
The Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has put up a new website with information about lingering water contamination in the Buckley Road area outside San Luis Obispo.
Much of the information available has not changed since residents in the area were brought up to speed during a February public meeting about Trichloroethylene, also known as TCE or Trichlor for short, found in the local groundwater table.
Although determined by the Centers for Disease Control to be toxic to humans and causing liver damage, TCE was extremely useful to industry for degreasing metal parts and was used mainly as a solvent before a gradual phase out starting in 1970.
In February, SLO County Airport officials said they thought it was unlikely that their facility could be responsible for contamination as they did not have any record of it’s use. However, the records made available for review to the water board — a State agency — only went back to 1980.
Not yet on the website, but new since the meeting, is the County’s response to a letter the water board sent on Feb. 26 giving them 90 days to put together a work plan for additional tests.
That got back to the water board on April 15 and they’ve been reviewing it ever since, said Sarah Treadwell, the water board’s analyst who sent the new website link to local residents.
Thea Tryon, a senior engineering geologist and site cleanup program manager, later wrote, “According to my staff’s cursory review of the County’s submittal, it is substantively complete. We will have comments on the work plans for groundwater and soil gas investigations; however, the proposed scope of work looks good in terms of number of sampling locations and general placement of the drilling locations.
“For some of our requirements,” she continued, “the County has submitted copies of what they have found but that they will submit more information once they have it. These items include things such as historical aerial photos, information on supply wells, and hazardous waste manifest plans.”
She tentatively expected that review to be completed sometime this week, though after deadline for this story.
If a direct cause and responsible party for the contamination can be determined, the State does have the power to force a provision of a replacement water supply for affected property owners.
That could take the form of on-site filtration for well users but doesn’t necessarily mean that would be done, as the most cost effective solution is acceptable under the law.
Until that happens, if it does, residents are advised to act on their own, to avoid consuming TCE.
California residents are typically responsible for knowing the quality of the water on their own property if they intend to use it.
Kurt Souza, from the water board’s division of drinking water, gave a detailed explanation of the level of filtering required to eliminate TCE from a home water supply during the February public information meeting. He recommended yearly testing for the most likely contaminants.
“Among the many tasks described in the work plan,” Tyron added, “the groundwater investigation along Buckley Road will include six locations for soil characterization and groundwater grab samples to 100-feet below ground surface. There are also potential locations north of the runways depending on the results of the groundwater results from the other six locations. The County proposes to start drilling and sampling at the end of July through beginning of August. We anticipate a report with the results end of August.
“For the soil gas investigation, the County anticipates installing the soil gas probes in the middle of July and that will go through end of July. We anticipate a report summarizing the results in mid-August.”
To see a map of the affected area and any updates the Water Board posts as they become available, go online to: www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/hot_topics/tce_pce_info/tce_pce_index.shtml.