Olin Corp. announced this week it will install two groundwater
treatment systems to remove perchlorate from water supply system
wells in the west San Martin area.
The ion exchange groundwater treatment systems, at a cost of
about $500,000, will be installed this month at the West San Martin
Water Works, which serves approximately 250 homes and several
county office buildings in the area.
Olin Corp. announced this week it will install two groundwater treatment systems to remove perchlorate from water supply system wells in the west San Martin area.
The ion exchange groundwater treatment systems, at a cost of about $500,000, will be installed this month at the West San Martin Water Works, which serves approximately 250 homes and several county office buildings in the area.
“This news is wonderful,” said Sylvia Hamilton, president of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance and chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Perchlorate, a group formed as a liaison between water officials and the public. “At least the community can see that there’s some movement. This should ease people’s minds, knowing that something’s happening.”
The treatment systems are the first to be installed by Olin for removal of perchlorate from groundwater. Similar ion exchange systems have been approved by the California Department of Health Services for use in potable water systems in other locations.
“The treatment systems we are installing in the west San Martin area will remove perchlorate from these wells to below non-detect levels,” said Rick McClure, Olin project manager for the local site. “This significant event is part of Olin’s continuing effort to resolve perchlorate issues in a positive and proactive way. We are very pleased that this agreement was reached with the West San Martin Water Works, and we look forward to continuing this spirit of cooperation in the future.”
The San Martin treatment plants should be similar to ones being installed by the City of Morgan Hill on two of its wells, also closed because of the contamination.
“The biggest boost to the city’s water system occurred on Saturday,” said Jim Ashcraft, city public works director. “The Nordstrom perchlorate treatment plant went on line shortly after noon on Saturday.”
Because the well is north of the source site, and because Olin has not taken responsibility for contamination in that area, the city itself paid for the plant, estimated to be between $200,000 and $300,000, plus installation, maintenance and operating expenses.
The existing Nordstrom well pumps 1,040 gallons per minute into the city system. Since it is one of the highest wells and has tested non-detect – below 4 parts per billion – for several months, it has been turned on recently during periods of high water use when reserves are low.
A second treatment plant is planned for the Tennant well.
“We just completed an initial round of testing,” Ashcraft said.
The tests looked for a particular spot within the well where contamination was higher and could be treated more intensely – a “zone of extraction.” Ashcraft said he expected the final results back by the end of the week and that the plant would be on line within two or three more weeks.
“U.S. Filters (the manufacturer of the ion exchange plant) only needs 24-hour notice,” he said. The Tennant well will produce less than its 400 gallons-per-minute full capacity because they intend to zero in on the concentrated area.
Negotiations between the city and Olin Corp. over the Tennant treatment have not been resolved; the water district has loaned the city the funds.
The West San Martin Water Works wells produce about 600 gallons per minute. Olin began supplying bottled water to West San Martin customers as a precautionary measure in February when two of the system’s wells exceeded the 4 ppb DHS action level for perchlorate. Though DHS only requires that water providers notify customers that the water tests at or above action levels; it does not require that the wells be shut down. However, most water providers, including the City of Morgan Hill, have done just that.
