A press release from the Village of Lakewood:
Water Well Testing for Private Wells Near Lakewood
Photo of the new Lakewood water tower while under consturction next to the Turnberry Country Clubhouse.
Working in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the Village of Lakewood is helping to raise awareness of the presence of Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE) in the groundwater near Well #1 in the Village of Lakewood.
Well #1 is located near the water tower on Turnberry Trail.
The State of Illinois has established a groundwater quality standard for MTBE of 70.0 ug/L. Routine testing of Well #1 has detected concentrations ranging from 0.9 to 1.4 ug/L.
President Smith said,
“It’s critical to emphasize that the small concentration of contamination detected is not a concern for those residents being served by the Village’s water system.
“However, the concentration level may be higher for those on private wells.”
“We want to reassure our residents that the Village continues to provide high quality, safe drinking water.
“No violations of state or federal regulations have occurred.
Erin Smith
“Both the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the IDPH have been excellent partners, and we appreciate a regulatory framework that is cautious in nature and places the health of citizens at the forefront of our priorities.
“Therefore, we strongly encourage citizens with private wells living within the area depicted on the attached map to take advantage of the opportunity to have their water tested.”
The IDPH is able to provide a list of accredited labs that can perform this testing. For more information, please contact Joe O’Conner at the IDPH regional office at (630) 293-6800 or Joe.O’conner@Illinois.gov.
Any further questions regarding this public notice should be directed to the IDPH.
MBTE is not used anywhere in the industry other than in Gasoline and as an oxygenator so the oil industry can sell lower octane gasoline.
The leaks into the groundwater has been from one or several of the gas stations in the larger areas around Lakewood.
This is not rocket science.
The gas stations need to be tested as well as surrounding area to make sure this toxicant is not continue to leaking into the groundwater.
If you find MBTE in your groundwater you can be quite sure there is gasoline leaking from some gasoline tank as it is already mixed into the gasoline.
If you want to be concern take a look at the brain cancer clusters in around Lake McCollum in McHenry.
http://www.epa.gov/mtbe/gas.htm
President Erin Smith, how much methanol and isobutylene would you like to have in your Starbuck’s drink in your coffee for next ten years?