Nearly 60 well owners near Belmont told to avoid water

Nearly 60 private well owners in the Belmont area of Gaston County have been told by the state to avoid drinking the water after testing showed several naturally occurring elements in samples exceeded state groundwater standards.

The homes are within 1,000 feet of a Duke Energy coal ash site, the Allen Steam Station, but the energy company is denying the issue is connected to the facility.

State officials added that, while state groundwater standards are being exceeded, in nearly all cases the well water would meet all the criteria of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act for municipal water supplies.

A Duke Energy spokesperson said Sunday that the company has agreed to supply water to the residents while further testing is done on the wells. The company is also meeting with the homeowners to assure them the coal ash ponds are being properly managed, officials said.

Duke Energy spokesperson Paige Sheehan accused the state of confusing residents of the area by putting out a warning on water that passes federal drinking water standards.

“If you turn on your faucet and get public drinking water from a municipal provider, the water quality would be virtually the same as what the private well owners have,” she said.

“It’s my position that the state is confusing and worrying residents with sample results that are hard to understand and interpret. So Duke is offering to meet with each of the residents to talk with them about the well sampling results.”

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has tested about 300 private wells across the state, and results of 117 wells around eight Duke Energy sites have been mailed to the residents. The results of 87 wells exceeded state groundwater levels, according to the state.

Households using the private wells were sent notifications of the health risks and options on how to remove or reduce the contaminants. State officials said the elements that most exceeded state standards were iron and manganese, which are found naturally in the state’s soils and groundwater.

State officials said they intend to investigate the source of elements that exceeded groundwater standards. Solutions would be found “within a few months,” officials said.

“If we determine that groundwater standards in a well have been exceeded and that a coal ash pond is the source, we will require Duke Energy to provide the residents with an alternative water supply,” said Tom Reeder, assistant secretary for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Cynthia London, who lives near the Allen Steam Station, told Observer news partner WBTV that she had received a letter saying her water had been tested, but she was still waiting on the results.

“From what I hear around the neighborhood, there are some letters coming back saying that you are not able to drink or cook with it, but I have not received that letter yet,” said London, who told WBTV she stopped drinking her water.

“I have been buying bottled water. I love my well water. It actually tastes good, but as far as whether it is safe or not, I don’t know yet.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Nearly 60 well owners near Belmont told to avoid water."