Moorestown Closes Two Water Wells to Evaluate Unregulated Chemical

The Township announced that two water wells on Church Street have been closed for further evaluation of an unregulated chemical found in the water supply.

The announcement came during Monday night’s Council meeting, following a presentation from a member of the public about his water quality at the previous meeting, as well as a conversation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

“(Public Utilities Director) Bill Butler is evaluating treatment options and figuring out the best way to deal with it,” Deputy Mayor Stacey Jordan said Monday night.

Township Manager Scott Carew said NJDEP hasn’t ordered the Township to take this action, but the Township is evaluating ways to remove a sample of Trichloropropane (TCP 1, 2, 3) that has been found in the Township’s drinking water.

NJDEP Spokesman Lawrence Hajna said that while DEP didn’t order the Township to close the wells, it was suggested they do so, if possible.

Moorestown has three water treatment systems. Both Carew and Hajna said the Township could survive for a time with two closed wells.

On Monday night, Carew said Moorestown purchases more water than it needs on an annual basis.

TCP is a completely manmade element likely to act as a carcinogenic in humans, according to epa.gov.

However, it is not considered a contaminant because there are no federal standards in place. Hajna said the federal government is considering putting standards in place to regulate the amount of TCP permitted in drinking water.

A resident raised the issue at the Sept. 22 Council meeting, when he referred to Moorestown’s 2013 Water Quality Report that listed the amount of TCP found in the water at 0.038 parts per billion.

“Only one state in the country has guidelines for TCP and that’s Hawaii,” Mayor Chris Chiacchio said. “We tested 15 times lower than what is set in their guidelines.”

As of 2005, Hawaii’s guidelines called for no more than 0.6 parts per billion in drinking water, according to that state’s most recent water analysis published online.

Hajna said Moorestown had “very low levels” of TCP as of September.

The Township participated in a conference call with DEP earlier in the week, prior to shutting down the well, Township Solicitor Anthony Drollas said.

Drollas said the Township has worked with NJDEP for over a decade to monitor unregulated contaminants in the Township’s water supply.

CORRECTION: Mayor Chris Chiacchio stated Mooresotwn’s water tested 15 times below the level of Hawaii for TCP Monday night. A previous version of this article quoted him as saying five. Patch apologizes for the error.