Threat from p 13 recommend levels no higher than 5 micro- grams per liter of each chemical for drinking water. PCE and TCE are both colorless liquids frequently used as dry cleaning solvents. TCE, in particular, is a common ground- water contaminant, according to the EPA, because it can leach through the soil. Alan Dulaney, a retired hydrogeologist and municipal water policy administrator, said that once chemicals like TCE and PCE get into the soil, they quickly sink into the aquifers. “They are denser than, say, contami- nants found in gasoline or diesel,” he said. “They tend to move faster, too.” The EPA classifies both TCE and PCE as carcinogens. Workers exposed to PCE have shown a higher incidence of bladder cancer and lymphoma, while TCE is linked with kidney cancer. Although there are differing opinions on the dangers of the chemicals, one risk evaluation of TCE in drinking water estimated that exposure to elevated levels of the toxin would cause a “moderate” increase in cancer risk. Exposure to the toxin over decades, the report said, would add approximately two or three additional cancer cases per 1,000 people. For 1,1-DCE, a chemical used to synthe- size certain types of flame-resistant coatings and packing materials, there is less robust evidence of a cancer-causing effect, but it is still considered a “probable” carcinogen by the agency. The levels that ADEQ measured are “very significant,” according to Dennis Shirley, an environmental consultant who has worked on chemical remediation projects in Phoenix for years. But in Phoenix, that’s not unusual, he said. And it’s one of the reasons the city has largely not relied on its groundwater as a source of drinking water. On a sunny Thursday afternoon, students filtered out of the Marc T. Atkinson Middle School in Maryvale, some heading onto buses, others gathering at a nearby park and community center. Several passersby told Phoenix New Times they had heard nothing about groundwater contamination. But this school and park on Maryvale Parkway sit at the very center of the contamination site, which spans roughly a square mile. The Maryvale neighborhood above the plume is largely residential and poorer than the average community in Phoenix. According to 2020 Census data, the vast majority of residents — 90 percent — are people of color, mostly Latino. How these communities have been affected by the plume beneath their homes is not yet clear. The state first discovered the contami- nation in the area in 2019. Investigators were monitoring an underground storage tank in the area which had a possible leak, officials said. They noticed that, in the surrounding area, there were high levels of TCE. The contaminated water, as far as the state knows, is not being used as drinking water. In Phoenix, most residents get their water from the city’s canal system, and officials said that there are no known private wells in the area — meaning that the groundwater is not getting into anyone’s tap. It’s possible, however, that there are unregistered wells that the state doesn’t yet know about. Officials recently urged anyone in the area with an unregistered well to contact the state for testing. William Owens, a longtime resident of the area, told New Times he was “not sure at all” about the possibility of unregistered wells. “I do not know of anyone personally that has a private well,” he said. Dulaney, the water expert, said he doubted that any residents of the area were relying on unregistered wells for their drinking water. Most wells built before registration requirements, he said, would have dried up by now, or been paved over. But old abandoned wells could be sources of pollution, if chemicals had been dumped into them, he said. There is one Salt River Project well in Ash Ponders Maryvale Park sits at the heart of a recently discovered toxic groundwater plume. the area, which Trujillo, the site’s project manager, said was an “ongoing concern.” That well is used for irrigation — not drinking water — but that use might change in the future, she said. The state is currently monitoring levels in that well. SRP officials told New Times that they are collaborating with the state during the environmental remediation process. “The city of Phoenix is heavily reliant on Colorado River water delivered by the Central Arizona Project,” said Dulaney. “Over the years, they haven’t invested much in drinking water wells.” Groundwater currently makes up just 2 percent of the city’s water supply. But now that a worsening drought has dropped the Colorado River to crisis levels, the city might need to >> p 17 14 MARCH 3RD– MARCH 9TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
