Date: Fri 07-Feb-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: LIBRAR

Quick Words:

water-state-testing

Full Text:

New State Water Regulations May Add To The Price Of A New Home

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Under new state regulations, many builders and home owners may find the cost

of testing their wells increasing significantly.

The regulations, which officially became effective Tuesday, when they were

published in the State Law Journal, are the state's new standards governing

private well water. They basically make home wells meet the same water quality

stands as public wells.

Newtown Health District Director Mark Cooper said current water tests for

private wells usually are in the $50 to $75 range. The new tests - for

specific organic and inorganic chemical contaminants - will add another $150

to $200 to that cost.

In a "worst case scenario," if contaminants are found, it could cost up to

$1,000 for testing and up to $2,000 for a water filtration system.

"Pesticides and chemicals like industrial solvents aren't picked up in the

standard tests so it is a good thing to test for them to prevent people from

drinking contaminated water," Mr Cooper said. "There have been instances of

this happening in various places around the state, including Newtown."

Mr Cooper's complaint with the new regulations is that local directors of

health weren't informed about the revisions until after they were made.

"The changes were approved on December 17 with an effective date of December

30," he said. "Letters telling us about the changes weren't even mailed to us

until January 17. There was no advance warning for local directors of health

and local labs to inform realtors and developers."

The new regulations require that wells be tested for turbidity - murkiness -

color, coliform bacteria, sodium, chloride, iron, manganese, hardness, Ph, and

organic chemicals such as those in industrial solvents and degreasers,

petroleum products and dry cleaning chemicals, plus inorganic chemicals like

nitrates and nitrites.

If the nitrate level equals or is greater than 5 milligrams per liter, the

water sample also must be tested for such pesticides and herbicides as

alachlor, atrazine, dicamba, ethylene dibromide (EDB), metolachlor, simazine

and 2,4-D.

There have been several instances of contamination of wells by organic

chemicals in Newtown in recent years. After the wells of some homes on Queen

Street were found to contain traces of a chemical commonly used in dry

cleaning solvents, the homes were hooked up to the United Water Company

supply. The Department of Environmental Protection currently is finalizing

plans to hook up homes in the Appleblossom Road area to the water company

after industrial solvents were found in the water of some private wells. And

filtration systems were placed on the wells of a restaurant and some homes in

the Dodgingtown area this fall after a gasoline tanker crashed on Route 302.

But the biggest impact of the new regulations will be felt by developers who

are drilling wells for new houses, Mr Cooper said.

"When a new well is drilled, the process disturbs all the minerals down there

and it takes a while to clear the veins [in the rock] out. All that iron has

to go somewhere," he said.

The result is that the water usually is discolored by iron, at least for a

while. Previously the health department would resample and test the water

after six months and, in 95 percent of the cases, the water would be clear

enough to pass a color-iron test.

"But under the new regulations, I can't sign off for a certificate of

occupancy [CO] until the water is clear," Mr Cooper said. "To get a CO, the

water will have to be treated [with a filtration system] even if in six months

it probably would reduce to a normal level. There's no choice."

If there had been ample warning about the new regulation, some builders might

have opted to install the residential wells first, rather than at the end of

the building process.

"If they put a well in the ground early and flush it as long as they can

before the water test, that would help," Mr Cooper said.

He said a nearby health district estimated that of 200 new homes built last

year, 66 would not have passed the new color test - but 95 percent of them

would have passed within six months.

"I'll bet we're close to that in Newtown," he said. "About 20 to 30 percent of

the new wells won't meet the iron criteria for the first test."

Wells traditionally have been one of the last steps in building a house

because the builder has to pay a well driller and a pump company - about

$5,000 for the average well - which isn't recouped until the house is sold.

In what Mr Cooper called "a worst-case scenario," the cost of testing water

from a well would be as follows: $50 to $75 for the standard test plus another

$150 to $200 to test for chemical contaminants.

The level of nitrate is a marker for other contaminants like pesticides, so if

it is at 5 milligrams per liter or more, an additional $200-$300 in testing

must be done. If the water sample fails, a water filtration system (up to

$2,000) must be added, then the water must be resampled and tested again,

adding another $200-$300.

The wells of existing homes which are re-sold must be tested within six months

of the date of sale under the new regulations. Who will pay for the tests -

the buyer or the seller - is not addressed in the regulations, Mr Cooper said.

The state held public hearings several years ago on possible revisions to the

water quality law. No hearings were held, however, once the revisions were

made.

Mr Cooper said the health district has been receiving telephone calls almost

daily from anxious realtors and builders.

"Contracts [for the sale of houses] have been in the works - but even one

month's notice of the new regulations would have gone a long way," he said.

Mr Cooper said he has been asked to meet with local realtors later this month

to discuss the changes in the regulations.