Knight Ridder/Tribune
Loretta Sword , The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
December 12, 2000
Dec. 8—Pueblo Chemical Depot on Thursday began distributing bottled water to an estimated 2,500 Avondale-area residents after learning late Wednesday that the town's public well contained low levels of explosives contaminants.
Lt. Col. John Megnia, depot commander, said during an afternoon news conference that he received confirmation Wednesday evening that a well sample taken Nov. 20 showed concentrations of "2,4-dinitrotoluene" that were slightly higher than state and federal "risk-based standards."
The contaminant is one of 16 known to have been released into ground water from a TNT "washout facility" that operated at the depot from the 1940s until the late 1970s.
Megnia and a state health department spokeswoman said the levels don't pose an "acute" health risk and that the well water is safe for bathing, laundry, washing dishes and even brushing teeth.
Risk-based standards are based on the lowest level of exposure over a lifetime that poses a risk to health, according to Jeannine Natterman of the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.
Megnia said bottled water was delivered to Avondale Elementary School and the Futures Academy, at the old Excelsior school, at the beginning of the school day.
Nearly 8,000 gallons of bottled and bulk water in a tanker were made available to Avondale residents at the senior center from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday.
Another 4,000 gallons is expected to be delivered today and distribution is set for 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily until further notice.
Megnia said water will be delivered to the elderly and others for whom pickup is a hardship.
He asked that residents be patient while waiting in line and promised that the depot will continue supplying water until long-term tests show no contamination.
The depot is negotiating the installation of a charcoal filtration system on the town's well.
Megnia said further action may be taken if samples taken at 10 private and public indoor faucets early Thursday show traces of 2,4dnt. Those results could be available sometime today.
The depot began monitoring Avondale's well in January, after finding ground water and well contamination in North Avondale and other areas south and west of the depot. Twenty-four private well owners have been receiving bottled water since then.
Twice-weekly tests on the Avondale well resulted in 10 positive readings for explosives contaminants.
Avondale residents asked for bottled water after learning of the results and the state health department encouraged the depot to provide it.
Depot officials declined, saying the test results were "false positives" because they weren't duplicated when subjected to a more sensitive test.
The sample taken on Nov. 20 was subjected to the more sensitive test and was confirmed twice, Megnia said.
"I stated early on that if there was ever any confirmed evidence of contamination of the Avondale water supply well, I would take action immediately, and we are doing so now. My staff and I are working closely with the Avondale Water and Sanitation Board and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to get this problem resolved quickly, and we will continue to investigate the source of this contamination."
The latest contamination automatically includes the Avondale well in a "compliance order" issued by the state last December.
As part of that order, the depot has committed to building a treatment system at the old washout facility to halt migration of contaminants off base. Construction is set to be finished in June and the state must have solid proof that off-base contamination has been stopped by June 2002.
The depot also must take steps to eradicate off-base contamination wherever it's found, including Ciruli Spring, Chico Creek, private wells and now the Avondale well.
A depot spokesman said tests will be conducted next week to determine whether sewage effluent from Avondale might be contaminating the nearby Arkansas River.
The health department's Natterman praised the Army for moving quickly to acquire water from Colorado Springs and Denver. The compliance order allows four days before water distribution must begin.
Michelle Childs, administrator of the Avondale Water and Sanitation District, said she and board members were notified of the contamination early Thursday "and the Army has come in and moved rapidly to correct the problem."
The water district will host a public meeting about the contamination from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Avondale Elementary School.
Residents also may call a depot hotline with questions from 6 to 10 p.m. daily. The number is 549-4119.
The Avondale Sanitation District number is 947-3186.
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© 2000, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
