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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM ISSUES UPDATE ON PASCOAG GROUNDWATER CLEANUP: CURRENT REMEDIATION SYSTEM TO BE EXPANDED, SECOND SYSTEM TO BE INSTALLED PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management will expand the remediation system currently operating at the former Main Street Mobil Station in Pascoag, and has approved the design and installation of a second remediation system to treat the gasoline-laced groundwater that contaminated Pascoag's prior public water supply with MTBE, more than a year ago. Expansion of the current system and installation of the second system should be completed by April 2003.The drinking water crisis presented a months-long hardship for residents and a major diversion of resources by DEM and others to identify the source, provide bottled water, expedite approval of a new well for the Harrisville Fire District to serve both villages, and secure funding to connect the Pascoag water system with the nearby Harrisville water system. Although residents have been hooked up to the Harrisville drinking water system since January, cleanup of the Pascoag contamination is expected to continue for several years. As of November 1, more than 2,400 equivalent gallons of gasoline had been recovered via the current system, known as System I. Additionally, approximately 443,500 gallons of petroleum contaminated groundwater had been recovered at the former station, treated and disposed of. The expansion of System I will include the installation of two additional bedrock recovery wells to treat the subsurface area between the former station property and the plaza located directly to the north, an area currently beyond reach of the system. The second system, known as System II, has been designed to treat contaminated groundwater in the heart of the contaminant plume, an area roughly bounded by the Bradford Manor, the plaza, the school administration building and Shea Lane. A bedrock groundwater recovery and treatment system, it will employ three bedrock recovery wells, submersible pumps, air stripper(s), and vapor and liquid phase granular activated carbon units. System II is designed to treat a flow rate up to 100 gallons per minute, as opposed to the one gallon per minute recovered by System I. The Town of Burrillville, working with DEM's contractor, Lincoln Environmental, will provide equipment and personnel to complete the trenching necessary to carry approximately 1,200 feet of plumbing and electrical conduits for System II. As a pilot test, the US Environmental Protection Agency will contribute a bio-reactor to treat a portion of System II's extracted groundwater at the rate of five gallons a minute. The bio-reactor, which will use microorganisms to mineralize the MTBE and other contaminants in the groundwater, will be tested for six months and its performance analyzed. If it performs well, a larger bio-reactor may be designed and constructed to treat the full design flow rate of 100 gallons per minute. -30- |
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