Comment
1. Without predrilling data, it is not possible to comment
on the cause for any water quality problems.
2. Where possible, I have noted situations where elevated
levels of a water quality parameter exists in Pennsylvania .
3. If duplicate analysis provided, I attempted to use the
highest reported value.
5. This is not about cause and effect; it is about a review
of the data.
Well – HW-04
With the exception of the following parameters, the
remaining values were reported as NOT Detected (U)
Ethylene glycol – the reported value is < 10 mg/L – there is
no standard, but the EPA has a guidance limit of < 7 mg/L. Other states have lower and higher standards:
At a minimum, I would recommend retesting for ethylene
glycol using a method that is more sensitive or conducting some type of
standard additions analysis.
Chloride – 12.5
mg/L (OK) – drinking water standard is < 250 mg/L – this does not suggest any specific
impact.
Sulfate – 17.1 mg/L (OK) – drinking water standard is < 250 mg/L – this does not suggest any specific impact.
Barium - 0.231mg/L (Total) and 0.215 mg/L (D) – drinking water standard is < 2 mg/L – this does not suggest any specific impact and barium is typically detectable in non-saline impacted water at a level of less than 1 mg/L. (OK)
Calcium- 32.3
mg/L (Total) and 31.7 mg/L (D) – no specific drinking water standard drinking
water standard is available. (OK)
Copper – 0.0052
mg/L (Total) and 0.0022 mg/L (D)- Copper is regulated as a primary standard
(EPA and PA) and secondary drinking water standard in Pennsylvania . Primary standard 1.3 mg/L and secondary
standard 1.0 mg/L. (OK)
Iron – 0.106mg/L
(Total) and 0.100 mg/L (D) – Iron is regulated as a secondary drinking water
standard in Pennsylvania
and the action limit is 0.3 mg/L.
Therefore, the total iron content does not exceed the secondary drinking
water standard. (OK)
Lead – 0.0014
mg/L (Total) and 0.001 mg/L (D)- Lead is regulated as a primary standard (EPA
and PA) at 0.015 mg/L, but the action level in PA for source water is 0.005
mg/L. Because of the hits for copper and lead, it is possible that there is
some corrosion within the system. (OK)
Magnesium- 6.65
mg/L (Total) and 6.475 mg/L (D) – no specific drinking water standard drinking
water standard is available. (OK)
Manganese– 0.0169
mg/L (Total) and 0.0.0149 mg/L (D) – Manganese is regulated as a secondary
drinking water standard in Pennsylvania
and the action limit is 0.05 mg/L.
Therefore, the total manganese content does not exceed the secondary
drinking water standard. (OK)
Sodium – 17.3 mg/L (Total) and 17.1
mg/L (D) – – no specific drinking water standard drinking water standard is
available, but the EPA has added it to the Candidate List to provide more
analysis. The EPA’s initial value of 20
mg/L has been clearly identified as not realistic. When chloride (salt is sodium chloride) is
present at a concentration of over 250 mg/L, the water can have an “off” taste.
At 400+ mg/L chloride, the water will taste definitely salty. (Source- Dr.
Brian Redmond, Professional Geologist). (OK)
Strontium – 0.273 mg/L (Total) and 0.271 mg/L (D) – no specific drinking water standard
drinking water standard is available, but it is on the EPA Candidate List. The EPA recommends that drinking
water levels of nonradioactive strontium should not be more than 4 mg/L. The report limit is consistent with
background levels in Northeastern Pennsylvania . If the background level was above 4 mg/L, it
would be advisable to test for radiological parameters, especially
alpha/beta. (OK)
Thallium- < 0.001 mg/L (Total) and
< 0.001 mg/L (D) – Thallium is
regulated as a primary drinking water standard by the EPA and PADEP in
Pennsylvania and the action limit is 0.002 mg/L. (OK)
Uranium – 0.0012 mg/L (Total) and 0.0011 mg/L (D) – Uranium is regulated as a primary drinking
water standard by the EPA and PADEP in Pennsylvania
and the action limit is 0.030 mg/L. (OK)
Zinc
– 0.099 mg/L (Total) and 0.0945 mg/L (D) – Zinc is regulated as a secondary drinking
water standard by the PADEP in Pennsylvania
and the action limit is 5.0 mg/L. (OK)
Ethane – 0.025 mg/L – No specific drinking water standard (OK)
Methane – 1.7 mg/L – No specific drinking water standard, but
the level indicates supersaturated conditions.
This means the well pump is pulling in water that is not in equilibrium
with the atmosphere. The well is well
below the new action limit of 7 mg/L and methane gas mitigation measures that
could be employed is the use of a standard vented well cap. For more details,
go to http://www.water-research.net/methanegas.htm
If the gas concentration was higher - isotopic could be used to suggest that source of the gas. At this time, it is not clearly biogenic or thermogenic.
Total Dissolved Solids – 158 mg/L
– Total Dissolved Solids is regulated as a secondary drinking water
standard by the PADEP in Pennsylvania
and the action limit is 500 mg/L. (OK)
Benzo(a)pyrene – the reported level was
0.00005 mg/L. The EPA and PADEP have a
primary drinking water standard of 0.0002 mg/L.
The value is below the maximum contaminant level for a regulated water
source. (OK)
4-Bromopheyl-Phenyl Ether – the
reported level was < 0.005 mg/L – there does not appear to be a federal
drinking water standard but Florida does appear to have an upper limit of
0.0010 mg/L. It might be advisable to
retest using a method with a lower detection limit. (OK)
Fluoranthene (Benzo(j, k)fluorene) was reported at a level of < 5 ug/L or
0.005 mg/L and there is a trigger level reported at 0.63 mg/L. It has been suggested that the EPA has set
for total PAHs of 0.2 ug/L or 0.0002 mg/L, but Florida has a health advisory level of 0.5
ug/L or 0.0005 mg/L for benzo(k)fluorene. Might be advisable to retest using a lower
detection limit.
Note: “Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a group of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil, and gasoline. PAHs are also present in products made from fossil fuels, such as coal-tar pitch, creosote, and asphalt. Fluoranthene adsorbs strongly to soil and would be expected to remain in the upper layers of soil. However, it has been detected in groundwater samples which demonstrates that it can be transported there by some process(es). It slowly degrades in soil (half-life ca 5 mo to 2 yr).” Based on the reported trigger level and the standard used forFlorida , this value does
not appear to violate a trigger level, but monitoring is advisable. http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/community/health-advisory/HAL_list.pdf
Note: “Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a group of chemicals that occur naturally in coal, crude oil, and gasoline. PAHs are also present in products made from fossil fuels, such as coal-tar pitch, creosote, and asphalt. Fluoranthene adsorbs strongly to soil and would be expected to remain in the upper layers of soil. However, it has been detected in groundwater samples which demonstrates that it can be transported there by some process(es). It slowly degrades in soil (half-life ca 5 mo to 2 yr).” Based on the reported trigger level and the standard used for
Nitrate+Nitrite-
N – 0.64 mg/L, this is well below the EPA / PADEP drinking water limit of
10mg N/L for nitrate-N and would also be below the limit of 1.0 mg N/L for
nitrite-N. (OK)
In general,
1. the available
data does not indentify a parameter that would result in the classification of
the water as not potable.
2. it was
suggested that at least one parameter be retested using a method with a lower
detection limit.
3. Methane/ethane ratio - 68
Again – this is
not about cause and effect- it is an honest review of the data. (Period)
Document
can not be copied in whole or part without the expressed written permission of
Mr. Brian Oram, B.F. Environmental Consultants Inc. http://www.bfenvironmental.com
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thanks, for the data and info; helpful.
ReplyDeleteso, you are recommending retesting for the ethylene glycol -- what did the retests report on the glycols? thanks,
ReplyDeleteYes - I have recommended retest glycols (ethylene and propylene glycol) with a method with a lower detection limit. There are a few labs that get you a detection limit less than 1 mg/L- More commonly less than 5 mg/L
ReplyDeletemost of the Dimock water wells that had problems after gas drilling had pre-drill tests by Cabot; have you seen them? they show no problems, from the ones I've seen!
ReplyDeleteI have personally completed at least 1 detailed file review for Dimock and have data that goes back to I think 2009 for multiple wells, but I only have access to additional data if the data is made available. I think this data was part of the PADEPs original decision. I have also reviewed data for some specific residences in Dimock and surrounding community. This specific post is related to 1 specific sample and not a history and it is a fact based review of the results. It would be nice if private well owners released data to the Citizen Database, but I can not forced them.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.water-research.net/privatewellPA.htm