Sampling errors, arbitrary levels and nonfunctioning wells are all an issue

BY STEVEN MICHAEL QUEZADA

CHAIR, BERNALILLO COUNTY COMMISSION; ALBUQUERQUE BERNALILLO COUNTY WATER UTILITY AUTHORITY

The Journal’s July 25 update on groundwater cleanup at the Kirtland Air Force Base fuel leak site says “the end … may be in sight.” But while the Water Authority applauds the progress made to date, we believe there is much more work to be done to guarantee the safety of the water supply and the 650,000 or so residents who rely upon it.

Before moving on to a “final remedy,” let’s first be certain it will be based on sound data and methodology. Not only does the current pump-and-treat cleanup process leave the bulk of the spill untouched at its point of origin, but we still do not have an accurate picture of the contamination plume traveling through the groundwater. Furthermore, we don’t even know how effectively pump-andtreat is working in the areas where it’s been deployed.

Why? There are several reasons, including:

■ Sampling methods used in the cleanup are prone to error, with up to a 35% discrepancy between test results depending on the method used.

■ Contamination with ethylene dibromide — EDB, a carcinogenic jet fuel component — is only being mapped in places where levels are at least 5 parts per billion, the maximum contaminant level, or MCL, as established by EPA. Areas of lower EDB concentration are mapped as though they are completely clean.

■ More than a quarter of the monitoring wells being used to determine the extent of the fuel plume are no longer effective because they’ve been submerged by a rising water table.

■ Existence of a data gap, or blind spot, in monitoring for contamination at the presumed northern extent of the plume. This could allow EDB to migrate, undetected, toward nearby Water Authority production wells. Fortunately, no drinking water wells have yet been affected, and the Water Authority routinely tests threatened wells for any sign of contamination.

■ With respect to the data gap, the Water Authority is installing its own monitoring well at the problematic location, funded by a $750,000 capital outlay from the state Legislature. We feel this action is necessary to ensure the safety of the regional groundwater supply. Additional actions should include deployment of improved sampling and testing methods, and reduction of EDB contamination to non-detect — not MCL — levels. That will require active remediation in the spill’s source area, not a handsoff approach that could leave the aquifer contaminated in perpetuity.

We all know the critical importance of the groundwater supply to this community’s future. The spill abuts a very productive area of the local aquifer. Let’s protect this drinking water using the best data and most thorough methods available to us.