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Survey
step toward ending
Three Rivers water cleanup
South Bend
Tribune - 7/18
THREE RIVERS --
The Three Rivers City Commission on Tuesday set into motion a
program that could bring to an end the longest contaminated water
cleanup project the city has ever seen.
At issue is a
35-square-block area on the city's west side where contaminated
ground water was discovered nearly 20 years ago from a chemical
spill from Dayco Corp., now Day International, near U.S. 131.
Nearby wells in
Millard Court were contaminated and property owners were
prohibited from using the water.
Dayco instituted
a water cleanup plan under the direction of the State Department
of Natural Resources ground water division.
In December 1984,
the city agreed to accept the tainted water into its wastewater
treatment plant.
The ground water
reportedly became contaminated when employees of Dayco, which
manufactured rubberized blankets for the printing industry,
removed a large underground storage tank. The tank was used for
the storage of waste ink and alcohol-based solvents.
The company then
implemented a purifying process before the water was discharged
into the sewer.
City Manager
Joseph Bippus told the commission Tuesday that the State
Department of Environmental Quality has requested that the company
begin surveying property owners in the affected area and determine
who is using private wells to pump ground water.
The area includes
property bordered by Millard Road to the south, French Street to
the north, U.S. 131 to the west, and the Rocky River to the east.
The Department of
Environmental Quality is proposing that any existing wells would
have to be closed at the company's expense. Bippus said the DEQ is
also recommending that the city pass an ordinance prohibiting the
creation of new wells in the affected area.
A survey will be
sent to owners asking for descriptions of their property.
Bippus said the
survey is preparatory to considering an end to the water
decontamination program. DEQ officials say the pumping process has
cleaned the ground water as much as it can, and there is no reason
to continue the process.
Discovery of the
contaminated wells in 1984 touched off a disagreement between the
city and Fabius Township, where the Millard Court properties and
wells are located.
The city refused
to extend water services to the area, which contains about a dozen
properties, until the township agreed to annexing the large parcel
into the city.
Without water, a
large mobile water tank obtained from the National Guard was
pressed into service so that residents could fill water canisters
for home use.
The township
filed suit in St. Joseph County Circuit Court in September 1984
and a plan was eventually worked out that compelled Millard Court
residents to annex their properties to the city in exchange for
water and sewer services.
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