Testing Of Oracle Water Supply Bypassed Since 1997
by J.C. Huntington
Dateline: Phoenix Arizona, Monday, October 16, 2000
Updated Tuesday, October 17, 2000
       Even though dichloromethane was detected in the Oracle water supply in 1997, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has allowed the Arizona Water Company to bypass monitoring the Oracle water supply for this contaminant and a host of other dangerous contaminants for over three years.

        Oracle draws its water from the same aquifer that supplies SaddleBrooke, Catalina, and several other communities.

       A waiver letter from the Arizona  Department of Environmental Quality  (ADEQ) shows that ADEQ has allowed the Arizona Water Company to forego monitoring for 47 contaminants, some of which have been previously detected in water from taken from the aquifer. 

        According to the ADEQ web site, the mission of the drinking water section of ADEQ, "is to develop and provide proactive environmental programs in Arizona with a focus on the protection of drinking water sources and the protection of public health."

       The granting of waivers by the ADEQ allowing water companies to bypass monitoring of the water in the aquifer beneath the Page-Trowbridge landfill for contaminants known to be in the landfill and previously detected in the water supply, leaves local residents wondering if their water appears safe simply because it is not being adequately monitored. 

 
List of Contaminants Not Tested For In Oracle Water
Waivers for testing are renewed yearly.  A letter from the ADEQ to The Arizona Water Company dated August 31, 1999 lists the latest contaminants that are exempted from monitoring in the Oracle water supply.

In other words, it is unknown if any of the following contaminants are in the Oracle water supply or not.
 
DICHLOROMEHTANE
XYLENES, TOTAL
ETHYLBENZENE
TOLUENE
ENDRIN
BHC GAMMA
MEHOXYCHLOR
TOXAPHENE
DALAPON
DIQUAT
GLYPHOSATE
DI(2-ETHYLHEXYL)ADIPATE
OXAMYL
DI(2-ETHYLHEXYL)PHTHALATE
PICLORAM
DINOSEB
HEXACHLOROCYCLOPENTADIENE
CABOFURAN
ATRAZINE
ALACHLOR
DIOXIN
HEPTACHLOR
HEPTACHLOR EPOXIDE		 2,4-D
2,4,5-TP
HEXACHLOROBENZENE (HCB)
PENTACHLOROPHENOL1,2,4 TRICHLOROBENZENECIS-1,2 DICHLOROETHYLENE
1,2DIBROMO-3-CHLORO(DBCP)
ETHYLENE DIBROMIDE (EDB)
CHLORDANE
O-DICHLOROBENZENE
P-DICHLOROBENZENE
1,1-DICHLOROETHYLENE
TRANS-1,2-DICHLOROETHYLEN
1,2-DICHLOROETHANE
1,1,1-TRICHLOROETHANE
CARBON TETRACHLORIDE
1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE
TRICHLOROETHYLENE
1,1,2-TRICHLOROETHANE
TETRACHLOROETHYLENE
MONOCHLOROBENZENE
MONOCHLOROBENZENE, CHLOROB
BENZENE
STYRENE

 

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