Sean C. Morgan
One property owner has said he has no interest in connecting to city water while another plans to move forward with a local improvement district to connect to city water in the area of 18th, Willow, Yucca, 19th and 20th streets, where high levels of arsenic have been detected in some wells.
In addition to arsenic contamination, the wells often run dry in the summer, said Josh Victor, who owns and rents out about 20 properties in the area.
At a public information meeting held Thursday, Sept. 27, to discuss contamination at the former Sweet Home mill site at 2210 Tamarack St. and the arsenic contamination, Victor told The New Era he intends to begin an LID in the area.
Wayne Reynolds said he has lived in the area and drunk the water for 64 years, and his father and a lot of friends lived into their 90s living in that area.
“Nobody’s concerned about the water,” Reynolds said. “It’s clear. It’s cold. I wouldn’t trade it for city water. I think what’s happening is somebody put the scare into people down there. The water is good.”
While noting that arsenic is in the groundwater in the area, Reynolds said his father lived in the neighborhood beginning in 1949 and lived to the age of 91. Reynolds was raised in the neighborhood and has had no problems or health concerns.
“I just think a lot of people are being scared, and I don’t think there’s a risk for it,” Reynolds said.
While testing for contaminants the Sweet Home Mill, formerly operated by Willamette Industries and Weyerhaeuser, state investigators found possible formaldehyde contamination in the wells of the neighborhood.
Further testing indicated safe levels of formaldehyde but also found substantial amounts of arsenic in three out of five wells that included arsenic testing, said Nancy Sawka of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Rick Partipilo, project manager with the Linn County Department of Public Health, said that Sweet Home had a patient diagnosed with arsenic toxicity during the 1990s. That prompted Linn County to test for arsenic, and high concentrations of arsenic have not been uncommon in Sweet Home.
Concentrations vary property to property, he said. Investigators have found “hot spots and cold spots.”
Data that has been gathered has enabled the county to apply for grants to connect residents to the city’s water service. Some neighborhoods, such as Vine and Tamarack streets off 18th Avenue, opted in, while others, like the north 18th Avenue neighborhood opted out.
“If I was concerned about arsenic in the water, I would buy bottled water,” Reynolds said. He said he already buys it for convenience.
Other than that, he said the water can be used for other purposes.
Among the five wells tested, one had 14.5 micrograms per liter; one was at 25.6 micrograms per liter; and one was at 123 micrograms per liter.
According to information from the Oregon Health Authority, arsenic concentrations above 10 micrograms per liter are unsafe for ingestion, cooking or washing fruits and vegetables. Above 100 micrograms per liter, it is unsafe for irrigation but safe for other uses.
At 500 micrograms per liter, it is considered unsafe for any domestic use.
The groundwater ebbs and flows, and concentrations can change, Partipilo said. While testing in the 1990s, it was difficult to detect a pattern.
In the short term, Partipilo said residents have different options: bottled water and a water tap provided by the city.
The permanent solution is an LID, which requires a majority of property owners to approve, to connect to city water, he said. Residents can also treat the water, typically using reverse osmosis. The process doesn’t produce high volumes of water.
“We will look at funding sources,” Partipilo said. “We’ve already started working with the city.”
Additional testing may be needed to build a composite picture of the area’s groundwater so an informed discussion can happen, he said.
The area has some 40 to 45 households. Several use the same wells.