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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMaple Street (2) 'Xie" SVY,0,� Gantick, Michael From: Gantick, Michael Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 4:22 PM To: 'Mike Derewianka' Cc: Galligan, Matthew; Depula, Robert; Reichle, Karl Subject: RE: Salt contamination of well at 16 Maple St South Windsor Dear Mr. Derewianka: Just to provide an update to you since our last conversation; We are employing a more accurate method of measuring our salt distribution- both the quantity of salt used and how it is distributed by the truck spreaders. We also have had additional training of our drivers on the procedures to be employed to have a more effective use of salt for the winter maintenance program. We have used a camera to T.V. the storm sewers in the roads immediately "upstream" of your house. We did find a separated pipe joint in a sewer at the intersection of Willow and Maple. We have marked the street, called the area to be marked by the other utilities and are going to try and repair the pipe before winter sets in. We are also partnering with UCONN to apply for a grant to study the winter maintenance practices here in South Windsor. As I have more information I will keep you in the loop. -----Original Message----- From: Mike Derewianka [mailto:mxd@cox.net] Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 1:17 AM To: Gantick, Michael Cc: Galligan, Matthew; Depula, Robert; Reichle, Karl Subject: RE: Salt contamination of well at 16 Maple St South Windsor Dear Mr. Gantick, Around late April or early May, in accordance with Mr. Deptula's recommendation, I contacted a licensed well driller, as he suggested. Before contacting the well driller, I ascertained with Mr. Deptula that he well driller I was going to contact was one that Mr. Deptula believed to be reputable. Mr. Deptula estimated the recommended inspection might cost roughly $100 to $200. However, I the driller said the inspection could not be done unless additional work costing thousands of dollars was done at the same time to bring the well up to the current code. That is a lot of money. In effect, your preconditions for a meeting are that I spend thousands of dollars. I do not think that this is your intent. The probability of a cracked well casing is extremely low. In Mr. Deptula's many years of experience, he has never seen one. Further, the drilling firm told me that if a cracked casing were the source of the bacteria, they would expect a higher bacteria count than the low 1 or 2 total coliform as is my case. (I had two samples in which a count was done; they were 1 and 2, respectively. ) They said that cracked casings were quite rare, and that a low bacteria count such as was found in my well was most probably due either to a faulty well seal at the top or contamination during sampling. I subsequently replaced the well seal and chlorinated the well. This did not clear up the bacteria. I believe I did not do the chlorination properly and should repeat it. Most importantly for you, the presence of bacteria does not excuse the town from remedying the salt problem. Even if my well casing were cracked from top to bottom, it would not be the likely path salt would take to enter my drinking water. Water prefers to flow down, not sideways. My well is in a 1 highly permeable gravelly sand. The ground above my well is about 30 feet horizontally distant and slightly uphill from the road. The salt water would have to travel about 30 feet horizontally to reach the well casing. That's one path to my drinking water. However, water prefers to flow down - vertically. It need only travel 30 feet down from the 'edge of the road to reach to the water table I draw from. Obviously the salt water coming off the road is going to prefer to travel down rather than sideways. The pump drawdown would then draw the water toward my well and be the logical explanation for the salt contamination. (My entire well - to the foot valve - is roughly a little under 50 feet deep. I am drawing off water near the surface. ) The idea that the water flowed horizontally to reach a casing that the town speculates might be cracked (contrary to the experience of a licensed well driller) instead of flowing downward to reach the water table is probably not something we want to continue with. I feel sure my concerns about the health risks to my family, including my low- sodium diet mother-in-law are something you share. Now that you have more information, I trust that you will agree to let me meet with town staff (Mr. Reichle) to review my concerns and how the town plans to address them. In particular, I have questions about how you will ensure that future salt application on my street does create a health risk. Please let me know when I can meet with town staff that oversee road salting. Thank you, Mike Derewianka work: 258-0354 home: 644-0359 ---- "Gantick wrote: Dear Mr. Derewianka: As of this date we have not heard back from you regarding Mr Deptula's October 18, 2007 letter. The town has been updating it's effort on our snow removal program and are willing to monitor your situation , but are looking for verification of your wells integrity as per Mr. Deptula's letter. -----Original Message----- From: Mike Derewianka [mailto:mxd@cox.net] Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 10:15 PM To: Gantick, Michael Cc: Pelkey, John; reichle@southwindsor.org Subject: Salt contamination of well at 16 Maple St Dear Mr. Gantic, Thank you for talking with me at the town meeting. Attached are some of the photos I took showing that the excessive salt town trucks left within 70 feet of my well not many days after I phoned Karl Reichle on March 13, 2007 and asked for his help in keeping town trucks from not spreading salt on my (Maple) street. The home in the background on the third photo are my house. The well is roughly 15 feet from the tree. This is the largest of 3 piles of salt left within 70 feet of my well, which is in a highly permeable sand-gravel acquifer, with a water table roughly only 31 feet below the surface. My drinking water supply is within 31 feet of the surface. My wife's mother lives with us. She is 85 year old and is on a sodium restricted diet. This practice is a threat to her health and possibly 2 the rest of my family. I insist that you take steps to stop this practice of over-salting. As I shared with you tonight, there is no reasonable doubt that the salt in my well came from town trucks. After the town salted the road late this past winter, lab analysis showed sodium levels that were over ten times what they were in 1991 and 1992. After the winter ended and some weeks had passed since the last salting, the sodium levels where down to half of what they were at the peak. Clearly there was a peak in sodium (and chloride) levels that coincided with the town salting. There are no storm drains that run along Maple Street. I am asking that the town switch back to a low salt, more sand mixture (as in prior years) , or make other arrangements to assure that this problem will not re-occur. I request that we arrange a meeting with me and the necessary town officials to make a decision on this. Please contact me to arrange a meeting. Thank you, Mike Derewianka work: 258-0354 home: 644-0359 3