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Department of Ecology News Release - August 22, 2001
01-145
Bellingham - Bottled water and shower filters will be a thing of the past for Whatcom county residents whose well water contains unsafe amounts of the pesticides ethylene dibromide (EDB) and 1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP).
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and city of Lynden have begun construction of a 5.4 - mile water line to serve about 50 households west of Lynden near Bertrand Creek.
"If nothing sidetracks our schedule, residents will be able to turn on their taps to safe drinking water by November," said Richard Grout, manager of Ecology's Bellingham office.
The overall project is being funded with $1 million from Ecology's toxics control account and $170,000 from the city of Lynden. Whatcom County administration also provided about $5,000 in reduced permitting fees.
In the mid-1980s, Ecology began providing bottled-water service to households in two Whatcom county areas where scientists found well water containing EDB or 1,2-DCP.
In 1988, Ecology paid for the Meadowdale Water Association north of Lynden to decommission its three contaminated wells and connect to the city's service. When a similar solution was deemed unworkable for the Bertrand Creek area, Ecology began providing bottled-water delivery to affected households.
In 1999, Ecology also provided shower filters after a study by the federal Agency for Toxics Substances and Disease Registry found that health risks were as high from showering and bathing as from drinking and cooking with the tainted water.
Most of the homes to be served by Lynden are located at two intersections - Birch Bay-Lynden/Rathbone/Bob Hall roads and Loomis Trail/Weidcamp roads.
A few homes with EDB or 1,2-DCP water contamination are located beyond the reach of the city water line extension. Long-term solutions, including household treatment systems or connection to an existing water association, are still being evaluated. In the mean time, those residences are still entitled to receive Ecology-funded bottled water service and shower filters.
Over the next eight weeks, Lynden engineering contractors will contact each eligible household to make arrangements for connecting homes to the water line.
Contact: Joan Pelley, Ecology communications manager, at 360-738-6247.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
