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.
6. Note- Suspected detects for acetone and ketone were after the treatment system and not before treatment.
7. Treatment system appears to reduce the methane to well below any action limit.
8. A Well by Well - Review of the Data for Dimock, PA collected by EPA
Well – HW-11 (2/13/2012)
With the exception of the following parameters, the
remaining values were reported as NOT Detected (U)
Anionic Surfactants
– < 0.01 mg/L – the secondary drinking water standard for foaming agents is
0.5 mg/L. (OK)
Arsenic – <
0.001 mg/L – drinking water standard is < 0.010 mg/L – this does not suggest any
specific impact and arsenic is a common problem in NEPA – about 6 % of private
wells have arsenic above 0.010 mg/L.
Barium – 0.164
mg/L – the primary drinking water standard for barium is 2.0 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)
Boron –< 0.050
mg/L (Total) – no specific drinking water standard drinking water standard is
available. EPA appears to have a long-term health advisory of 2.0 mg/L, but
other states have limits that range from 0.6 to 1 mg/L. Therefore, this does not appear to suggest
any form of impact. (OK)
Calcium- 35.5
mg/L (Total)– no specific drinking water standard drinking water standard is
available. (OK) – the value seems low.
Chloride –7.24
mg/L (OK) – drinking water standard is < 250 mg/L – this does not suggest any specific
impact.
Chromium- < 0.002
mg/L (D) and the EPA/ PADEP primary drinking water standard is < 0.100 mg/L
(OK).
Copper – < 0.002
mg/L (Untreated) - the secondary
drinking water standard is 1.0 mg/L and the primary drinking water standard is
1.3 mg/L. (OK)
Ethane –0.320
mg/L – No specific drinking water
standard (OK)
Fluoride – < 0.1
mg/L (OK) – drinking water standard is < 2 mg/L- PADEP drinking water
standard is 2 mg/L.
Iron – < 0.100
mg/L (Total)) – 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 – < 0.001
mg/L (Total) - 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. (OK)
Lithium – <
0.200 mg/L (Total) – no specific drinking water standard drinking water
standard is available, but EPA has recommend a level be below 0.7 mg/L (OK)
Methane – 22 mg/L – No
specific drinking water standard. (Action is needed). The well water is above the new action
limit of 7 mg/L- The well should be actively vented, but it may be advisable to
evaluate a structural modification to the well and changing the pumping system.
For more details, go to http://www.water-research.net/methanegas.htm
Magnesium-8.13
mg/L– no specific drinking water standard drinking water standard is
available. (OK)
Manganese– 0.0457
mg/L (Total) – 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, but it is approaching the value. Some intermittent problems with discolored
water may occur – additional monitoring recommended. (OK)
Nickel – 0.0014 mg/L – no specific drinking water standard
drinking water standard
is available, but
the EPA has suggest a MCL of 0.1 mg/L.
(OK)
Sodium –8.48 mg/L –
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)
Sulfate –13. 7
mg/L (OK) – drinking water standard is < 250 mg/L – this does not suggest any specific
impact.
Strontium – 0.469 mg/L – 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)
Total Dissolved Solids –
110 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.
Total Suspended Solids - < 10 mg/L – no standard, but would recommend retesting to obtain a lower detection limit.
Uranium –0.0021 mg/L (Total) – 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
–0.0042 mg/L – Zinc is
regulated as a secondary drinking water standard by the PADEP in Pennsylvania and the
action limit is 5.0 mg/L. (OK)
Nitrate+Nitrite-
N – 0.162 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)
Acetone - the reported value was 0.0057
mg/L (J/P -actually below the actual water limit of < 0.002 mg/L- Treated Water- the untreated
water had a reported value of <0.002 mg/L)
and no trigger limit is reported, but PADEP has a Medium Specific Concentration
(MSC) for aquifers with a TDS of < 2500 mg/L of 33.0 mg/L and Massachusetts appears
to have a drinking water standard of 6.3 mg/L. (OK)
Methyl ethyl ketone –
0.0014 mg/L (J/P- the sample is following the treatment system and below the detection
limit for the method) – the untreated water had a value of < 0.002 mg/L ) – therefore
the result is not actually detectable.
Methyl
ethyl ketone is a colorless volatile liquid that is soluble in water. The odor
threshold for methyl ethyl ketone is 5.4 parts per million (ppm), with an acetone-like
odor reported. Methyl ethyl ketone is also referred to as 2-butanone. The EPA and PADEP has not set a drinking
water standard, but it appears that Massachusetts
has set a level of 4 mg/L. (OK- but additional
monitoring advisable)
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/methylet.html
Ethylene glycol – the reported value is < 10 mg/L – there is
not standard, but the EPA has a guidance limit of < 7 mg/L. Other states have lower and higher standards:
The EPA also collected a treated water sample. After treatment, the following was documented:
Ethane – From 0.320 mg/L to < 0.0012 mg/L
Methane – From 22.00 mg/L to 0.026 mg/L
Chloride – From 7.24 mg/L to 7.01 mg/L
Sulfate – From 13.74 mg/L to 13.3 mg/L
Barium – From 0.164 mg/L to 0.164 mg/L
Copper – From < 0.002 mg/L to 0.0045 mg/L – suggest corrosion
within plumbing of home, the result is still below the action limit.
Sodium – From 9.35 mg/L to 11.8 mg/L
Strontium – From 0.469 mg/L to 0.513 mg/L
Uranium – From 0.0019
mg/L to 0.0019 mg/L
Zinc – 0.0042 mg/L to 0.012 mg/L - suggest corrosion within plumbing of the home,
the result is still below the action limit.
Acetone - < 0.002 mg/L to 0.0057 mg/L (J) – the detect is
below the reported detection limit for the method.
Methyl ethyl ketone - < 0.002 mg/L to 0.0014 mg/L – a suspected
detect following treatment.
At a minimum, I would recommend retesting for ethylene
glycol other and glycol-type compounds using a method that is more sensitive or
conducting some type of standard additions analysis.
1. Methane was present at a level that is above the action
limit of 7 mg/L and approaching a saturated level. Action is needed. Since the ratio of methane/ethane is 68 – this
would suggest that the gas is of Thermogenic origin/
2. Methyl ethyl ketone and Acetone hits were suggested, but
the reported values were actually below the method detection limit. This suggests that additional monitoring may
be advisable.
3. Detects for ketone and acetone after treatment suggest that
this may be related to recent repairs or changes in the plumbing for the home.
4.Manganese is just below the secondary drinking water
standard – continued monitoring is advisable.
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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Looks like the treatment systems are working, but the may be issues with the plumbing of the home leaching some trace level organics. This is another reason for the need for private well construction related standards.
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