Report: Lewes water has very low amount of PFCs
After water emergencies threatened the health of residents in western Sussex County, the Lewes Board of Public Works proactively expanded water tests to include perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs.
Following the call to action at the BPW’s April meeting, General Manager Darrin Gordon sent water samples to ALS Environmental in Middletown, Pa., for testing. The results found that the city’s water has 10.9 parts per trillion for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, and perfluorooctanoic acid was not detected. Those numbers are well below the Environmental Protection Agency’s threshold of 70 parts per trillion.
Tests show the level of PFCs is 1/7th of the threshold.
“Our water is safe,” Gordon said. “We can drink it. I drink it. I would simply say that we’re going to continue to monitor it.”
Gordon said they took a grab sample from the well heads. Because the well heads all pull from the same unconfined aquifer, he said, it is not necessary to test every well.
“We feel that test is representative of all our wells,” he said.
Board Vice President A. Thomas Owen said he was pleased with the results.
“This is good because now we have a base level,” he said. “My concern has been with the proposed construction near our well heads. Now we have a good level to see if things change.”
Lewes wells are tested monthly for chloride, nitrate, nitrite, sulfates and fluoride. The BPW also tests for bacteria three times a month in the winter and 10 times during the summer season. An annual Consumer Confidence Report is posted on the BPW website and the Office of Drinking Water website. The report explains all the tests and results throughout the year.
