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Water wells owner warned
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Posted on Apr 21 2000
Acting Gov. Jesus R. Sablan yesterday warned private water wells found to be contaminated with volatile organic chemicals will also be shut down, like some of those wells operated by the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation which have been abandoned due to being health hazards.
But he assured the public the government is on top of the situation as CUC as well as the Division of Environmental Quality have already taken steps to prevent further harm to island residents.
“I was told that any wells [found] contaminated, CUC has shut down those,” Mr. Sablan told reporters in an interview. “The people have nothing to be alarmed about.”
If water wells owned by private residential homes and commercial establishments contained those contaminants found by authorities, he believed they must also be abandoned.
“If that is the case, any well that is contaminated should be shut down,” said the acting chief executive.
DEQ, which is responsible for implementing the CNMI’s Safe Water Drinking Water Program, has required private water well owners to conduct chemical monitoring on their water systems as the division has only performed such tests on public wells.
Earlier tests conducted by DEQ on some water wells on Saipan showed the presence of TCD chemicals in a well in Capitol Hill, raising alarm that others may be contaminated.
DEQ Director Ike Cabrera, in fact, has called for chemical monitoring on water systems because the agency has already found harmful chemicals in the limited amount of testing that has been carried out in some areas on the island.
In one instance, contamination was found at a concentration greater than 60 times the CNMI drinking water standard. The health risks ranging from gastrointestinal disorders to diseases of the liver, circulatory system, reproductive system and cancer, are very real and can no longer be ignored, according to Mr. Cabrera.
Next month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will conduct water tests on the island, including most of the private wells without any expense to the owners.
