DNREC is requesting federal assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in resolving groundwater concerns in the Newark area and determining the sources of contamination there.
State officials from DNREC and the state Department of Public Health and DPH ODW, along with representatives of the City of Newark, with support from the EPA, will hold a public informational meeting Thursday, Nov. 17 about the Newark South Groundwater Plume Site.
The site encompasses an area of southeast Newark along Route 72 between Interstate 95 and Route 4 (East Chestnut Hill Road) in the Newark area.
The meeting will take place from 6 – 8 p.m. at the University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall Auditorium 125, located at 100 Hollowell Drive, Newark.
The City of Newark has six municipal wells located in the area where groundwater has been affected by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are organic compounds found in some industrial and commercial products.
Newark’s drinking water is treated by the city to remove VOCs from the water supply, enabling the water to continue meeting both federal and the more stringent state safe drinking water standards.
The wells are needed, due to long-running water supply issues in the city. It led to the construction of an expensive reservoir.
The source of the groundwater contamination has not been identified, despite numerous environmental investigations and remedial efforts by DNREC at sites of potential concern.
DNREC subsequently has requested EPA’s assistance to help fully investigate the site and identify the sources of the VOC contamination.
The EPA will use Superfund authority and resources to determine if the site warrants further long-term investigation and cleanup.
A brief presentation of the site’s history will be given by DNREC’s Site Investigation & Restoration Section while Newark officials will discuss the ongoing, successful treatment of the public water supply at the city’s South Well Field Treatment Plant.
For more information contact Tom Coleman, director of Public Works and Water Resources, or Mark Neimeister, water operations superintendent City of Newark, 302-366-7000
