New well restrictions highlight safety questions of Fort Ord groundwater.

In an effort to circumvent contamination of water wells both on and adjacent to Fort Ord, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors is expected to issue an ordinance on April 27 that would ban the drilling of new wells in certain areas of the former Army base, while allowing limited new wells in other areas under certain restrictions.

At issue are three groundwater "plumes"--basically pockets of polluted underground water--the Army is currently cleaning to remove chemical solvents like Tricholorethylene (TCE), chloroform and vinyl chloride that leached into the groundwater from adjacent landfills and a former motor pool when Fort Ord was an active military base.

The Army has been tracking the plumes since 1985 using a network of 350 monitoring wells. One plume measures 800-by-2,000 feet, the second 4,000-by-10,000 feet, and the third 2,000-by-4,000 feet.

Although the Army contends the plumes don''t impact the deep aquifers and pose no threat to drinking supplies, there is concern over the degree to which the Army can contain the plumes and whether new wells could somehow cause the plumes to drift horizontally or vertically, thereby contaminating the drinking supplies for Marina, Seaside and Ord proper.

"There is a concern if the Army is not able to totally contain the contamination and clean up the plume, it could get into existing city and Army wells," says Marina Mayor Jim Perrine of the plume near Marina that is most problematic.

The ordinance proposed by the supervisors would divide Ord into two zones, a "prohibition" zone which would preclude any new wells from being drilled, and a "consultation" zone, where drilling would be allowed pending consultation with the Army and affected city council. Conditions for new wells will likely include a minimum well-depth of 900 feet, water pumping limits, and completely sealed well shafts.

Uncertainty over whether the toxic plumes can remain contained or whether they are vulnerable to shifting, is what prompted the board to take preventive action.

As far as Curt Gandy, director of the monitoring group the Fort Ord Toxics Project (FOTP), is concerned, the supervisors'' action is highly warranted given the uncertainty of the groundwater situation under Ord.

According to Gandy, technical experts hired by FOTP to study the water situation at Ord suggest that two of the plumes, one from the Army landfill and one from Fritzsche Airfield, may in fact be linked. Although those studies are not conclusive, Gandy says they highlight the uncertainty regarding precise characterization of the plumes.

"The whole thing is highly debatable," says Gandy. "There are so many hydro-dynamic theories that characterization [of the aquifers] under Ord are not complete. The whole characterization has been fast with an eye to rapid transfer of property."

Concern over the toxic plumes dates as far back as the late ''80s, when some new Army wells for personnel housing, as well as a production well in Marina, showed signs of TCE contamination.

"This was the first proof of the stuff coming from the old landfill," explains Leo Lasca, general manager of the Marina Coast Water District (MCWD), which operates a total of seven production wells for both Marina and Fort Ord. "The city had to abandon its existing wells on the boundary with Ord and dig new wells at the 900-foot level."

The production wells on Ord operated by the MCWD are located within a mile of the plume. Just a year ago, according to Lasca, there was indication of a plume migration in an Army monitoring well, but subsequent testing turned up negative.

"That incident got everyone nervous, but it went away and we don''t know if it was just a false positive," says Lasca, who adds that in a worst-case scenario, the MCWD would have ample time to respond.

Lasca says that given a worst-case scenario where existing Ord wells became contaminated, it would be possible to drill new wells down to 900 feet. With the plume in question located at the 180-foot aquifer, Lasca insists new, deeper wells could escape contamination.

It was a recent request to sink a new well on Reservation Road for landscaping irrigation that prompted the county to take regulatory action. Concern that the new well could draw the contaminated plume toward Marina wells caused MCWD officials to alert the county to the potential problem. In addition, the absence of set regulations regarding new wells forced local officials to confront the issue.

"There were fears that we all collectively had, including the Army, the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, and county health that we did not have good regulatory powers to preclude someone on Ord from drilling a well," says Lasca. "If someone goes in to exercise their property rights and drill an overlying well that could have adverse effect on the Army''s attempt to herd the plume and squeeze it into a smaller spot."

The long term implications on future development and water needs of Fort Ord, Seaside and Marina relative to the clean up of the toxic plumes remain unclear. The Army currently has two water treatment plants in operation to filter out the toxic contaminants, and estimates it will take 15 years to complete.

According to Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) Executive Officer Michael Houlemard, although there doesn''t appear to be any immediate concern over the toxic plumes affecting FORA reuse plans, it is necessary to proceed with caution.

"We have to be absolutely careful to protect any further impact to the migrating plume," says Houlemard. "Right now it does not impact what we are doing at Fort Ord. The current well field is providing water resources to the base and will continue to work well into the next century."

mail@coastweekly.com">Send a Letter to the Editor | http://www.eline.com/CW" target="resource window">Post a Public Forum