Dow to pay to replace Plaquemine water filter beds
PLAQUEMINE — Dow Chemical Co. has agreed to shore up Plaquemine’s defenses against possible water contamination to avoid a repeat of a late-1990s emergency in which the city’s aquifer tested positive for the carcinogen vinyl chloride, Mayor Mark “Tony” Gulotta said.
Dow has consented to pay for replacing the city’s sand-based water filtering beds with more-effective carbon-based filtering beds, Gulotta said.
A Dow spokeswoman said the company also promised to assist Plaquemine in the event of any future water contamination incidents threatening the city’s water supply.
The memorandum of understanding signed by both parties came out of a ruling in 18th Judicial Court last year in which state ad hoc Judge Jerome M. Winsberg held Dow responsible for polluting the Upper Plaquemine Aquifer.
The contamination was first detected in 1997, but wasn’t made public until 2001, when pollutants were found in the drinking water used by residents in the now-closed Myrtle Grove Trailer Park just north of Plaquemine’s city limits.
Dow continually has denied its facilities were the source of the contamination.
Gulotta said the city has drilled a series of “sentinel” test wells since 2001 that are checked regularly for contaminants.
“We supply water to 13,000 people. If we were to get a hit in one of our sentinel wells, we could address it before it got into our main water supply,” the mayor said. “It would take years for any contamination to migrate into our main wells.”
Rodney Mallet, communications director for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the agency tests Plaquemine’s six sentinel wells quarterly.
“I don’t know of any other city that tests its water as often as we do,” Gulotta said. “It is probably the most-tested ground water in the state.”
Dow spokeswoman Stacey Chiasson said the company’s agreement with Plaquemine is “part of being a good neighbor.”
An independent group Dow paid to study Plaquemine’s water treatment facilities, Chiasson said, concluded that while the city is capable of adequately treating its ground water, replacing the sand beds would be an added layer of security.
Dow expects to spend between $60,000 and $100,000 to install the carbon beds this year, she said.
“We’ve had a good partnership with Plaquemine and we want to continue that,” Chiasson said. “We live here; we work here. If the city ever detects any contamination, Dow will be ready to assist.”