This morning, I announced several new steps that are being taken to address the contaminated well water found in the Scofieldtown area in North Stamford.
First, the City is making bottled water supplies available to families residing on Hannah’s Road, Larkspur Drive, Very Merry Road, 3-18 Cousins Road and Skymeadow Drive between Scofieldtown Road and Larkspur Drive. This bottled water supply will be made available while the City awaits results from tests underway, or being scheduled now. These areas are also the highest priority for well testing based on the results thus far. So far, of the 59 households within this area, 36 remain to be sampled and tested; 11 tests are pending at the State Department of Public Health lab; 5 have tested negative for pesticides (including 1 City test and 4 EPA tests in 2008); and 7 have tested positive for pesticides (including 4 City tests and 3 EPA tests from 2008).
All of the households that have tested positive have already been provided with bottled water by the State Department of Environmental Protection and have either received or will shortly receive activated charcoal filtration systems for their homes. These systems are effective in eliminating pesticides like those found in the positive samples. The City is working to contact each of the households to apprise them of the situation and arrange for water supplies to be delivered, and have been able to reach the vast majority. However, households within this area who have yet not been contacted should call the City of Stamford’s Office of Operations at 977-4141 to arrange for this service.
Second, the City has scheduled a Public Information Meeting relating to the contaminated wells for Tuesday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the gymnasium at the Scofield Magnet Middle School. Please note that the school itself is served by public drinking water supplies, and is not impacted by well contamination.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for concerned residents to hear from City health and operations officials as well as representatives from the State Departments of Environmental Protection and Public Health. Further information and an agenda for that meeting will be posted on the City’s website at www.cityofstamford.org in advance of the meeting.
We are working very hard to meet the challenge presented by these troubling findings. I hope that the residents affected by this problem will take advantage of these interim precautions. Through the upcoming public meeting, communication between the community and the many City employees involved in the response and our website, I commit the City to providing as much information as we have available to the public as we work diligently to address this most serious problem.
TOWN WATER HOOKED UP RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by EJ Fink — September 4th, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
WHEN is the big ? We need City water now, not next Spring! and everyone should get charcoal filters until we get the city water because the water table etc. is changeable and no one will know when their well gets polluted. Just talk to me sometime about all the cancer that abounds in the houses on these streets!
Comment by Paula Eppinger — September 4th, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
How much would it cost for all of North Stamford to have city water made available. My well water is disgusting.
Comment by Jeff — September 7th, 2009 @ 9:59 am
Yeah, Jeff, let’s dig up every road in North Stamford. Dig a new well. My well water is wonderful.
Comment by Matt — September 8th, 2009 @ 9:06 am
Negativity in this forum or anywhere else will not bring us closer to resolving the present problem. We cannot change what has happened. We have to focus on coming to a solution quickly; a solution that will ensure the longterm health of all residents of Stamford. Matt, may I suggest that you help jeff by providing some of your water for his household to use as drinking water?
Comment by Brad M — September 16th, 2009 @ 6:46 pm
Providing an alternate drinking water source will not prevent landfill gases from entering nearby homes. Most closed dumps generate highly explosive, highly flammable methane gas for up to a hundred years after closure. Carcinogenic chemical gases, found in most closed dumpsites, can migrate through the soil at least 1,000 feet from the perimeter of a landfill and collect in nearby homes. Government agencies need to protect Stamford residents from explosive and cancer-causing chemicals present in the landfill soil as well as in their water supply.
Comment by People Investigating Toxic Sites — October 8th, 2009 @ 3:29 pm