PFOA Water Test Update: 400 Receiving Bottled Water

CONCORD, NH - The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) updated drinking water well test results for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Merrimack and Litchfield, on April 22, 2016.

According to Jim Martin, the public information officer for the org, to date, NHDES has collected over 350 well samples, and received results on 195 of those samples.

The results show levels of PFOA ranging from no detection to 1,600 parts per trillion (ppt). Of the results received, 52 private wells (1 in Manchester, 11 in Merrimack and 40 in Litchfield) show PFOA levels at or above 100 ppt, and ranging from 100 ppt to 1,600 ppt.

An updated map and table of the test results have been posted on the NHDES website: des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pfoa.htm.

Test results to date for the Merrimack Village District Water Works wells are being sampled on a weekly basis during the investigation. New data are currently expected from the laboratory within the next week, Martin noted.

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NHDES has also expanded bottle water to approximately 400 properties in Litchfield, Manchester and Merrimack that are served by private wells and are within and abutting a 1-mile radius of the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant in Merrimack to help protect the public’s health based on data that indicate an area of contamination of private drinking water wells, a number of which contain greater than 100 ppt of PFOA.

All residents of Merrimack and Litchfield living within the current 1-mile investigation radius who get their water from private drinking water wells (not through Merrimack Village District Water Works or Pennichuck Water), as well as those on the following streets outside of the radius, now qualify to receive bottled water: Century Avenue, Courtland Avenue, Lance Avenue, Jeff Lane, Mike Lane, Ronisa Avenue, Ivy Way, Robyn Avenue, Acorn Way, Oak Drive, Sybil Lane, Garden Drive and 381-450 Charles Bancroft Hwy (north of Midway Ave. and south of Strawberry Lane).This also applies to residents of Manchester on Brown Avenue south of Raymond Wieczorek Drive.

Soil testing at properties with sensitive populations (e.g., schools, childcare centers and playgrounds) within a 1-mile radius of the Saint-Gobain facility in Merrimack will be conducted next week. A map of the properties in Merrimack and Litchfield that will be tested is posted on the NHDES website: des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/documents/pfoa-surface-soil-sampling-4-15-2016.pdf

NHDES is collecting well samples within a 1.5 mile radius from the Saint-Gobain facility in Merrimack. Residents within the 1.5 mile radius who would like to request a well test can submit the following form to NHDES: surveymonkey.com/r/NHDES-S-03-008 .

For more information related to the investigation, visit the NHDES at des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pfoa.htm or call the Public Inquiry Line at 603-271-9641.