By Marley Seaman
"It was a real pain and it got expensive," Murphy said. "But I'm glad they realized there was a problem before we drank it."
Residents of West Hempstead, Cathedral Gardens and parts of Franklin Square and Garden City South were advised by West Hempstead Water District officials June 26 not to drink the water, or use it for cooking, making ice or brushing their teeth, after tests showed methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) at levels greater than those allowed by New York state law. The contamination was found in two supply wells at the Birch Street Plant, which was temporarily shut down. The district announced the water was safe to drink on the afternoon of June 28.
The samples that showed contamination were taken on June 23 from two locations on Hempstead Avenue. Most of the water from the Birch Street plant comes from three wells, numbers three, four and five, and Water District Superintendent Robert York said those wells are tested every month. Contamination was found in wells three and four. In May, York said, the level of MTBE in those wells was less than .5 micrograms per liter, meaning the amount had increased almost 30 times.
The June tests showed MTBE concentrations of 14 and 13 micrograms (.0000014 grams) per liter, or 14 parts per billion; levels the district said were not an immediate threat. Tests of the supply wells themselves showed higher concentrations, including a result of 156 micrograms per liter. The maximum allowed level of MTBE, once used to increase the octane of gasoline, is 10 micrograms per liter.
Water was routed from Garden City to meet the demands of the communities affected by the contamination. Despite the closing of the Birch Street facility, however, the water district issued the warnings because it does not know where the MTBE came from. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Nassau County Health Department are conducting an investigation to the source of the MTBE. Residents were also advised to use as little water as possible while bathing or cleaning, and to turn on kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans to avoid inhaling airborne MTBE.
The Environmental Protection Agency Web site says research indicates that MTBE is a carcinogen when ingested in high doses, but that it is less clear whether the substance is a threat at lower levels. Some people may notice a turpentine-like taste or odor from their water if MTBE is present in concentrations of 20 to 40 micrograms per liter or higher. However, at lower levels, such as those found in the water supply during the June 23 tests, it may not be so easily detectable. Even at 40 micrograms per liter, the EPA site says MTBE is not an immediate health hazard.
New York state banned MTBE on Jan. 1, 2004. Health Department spokeswoman Cynthia Brown suggested a gasoline spill was the most likely culprit.
"It could have been a spill that's years old," she said. "They are investigating the possible cause... so they can address the situation of what it is, what caused the contamination." Brown added that the spill did not necessarily occur in or near West Hempstead.
The Birch Street Plant went offline while it was "flushed," and resumed operation after two consecutive water samples were found to meet the state MTBE limits. The district hoped that task would be completed on Tuesday, but samples taken that day still showed MTBE concentrations above 10 micrograms per liter. Testing continued on Wednesday in West Hempstead, and in other parts of the water system. The two supply wells where the contamination was found are still offline, but the plant's other seven wells are functioning again.
Cathedral Gardens Civic Association President Scott Jablow said the water district was doing a good job dealing with the situation.
"It wasn't a life-threatening or health-threatening emergency," he said. Jablow said that other residents were upset that the district did not immediately notify them of the problem. While he agreed that a better notification system needs to be created, perhaps involving e-mail, he said that "mass hysteria" would have resulted from a door-to-door notification.
"The level of threat was extremely low, so going door-to-door was not necessary," said York.
After learning of the test results "somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 5 o'clock Monday evening," York said, the district began to draft a notice to its consumers. That notice was then sent to the health department for review, then sent back to the district, sent again to the health department and finally returned to the district for distribution to the community and media. That notice, which was posted on the water district's Web site (www.westhempsteadh2o.com), is dated 10 p.m. on Monday. Because of the lateness of the hour and the lack of other notification, much of the community did not learn about the MTBE until the following day.
However, one West Hempstead man said that the district might have known of the problem before 2 p.m. on Monday, not 4 or 5 p.m., because he saw a water department employee emptying a fire hydrant on his block at that time.
"It was two o'clock [when] they started flushing the fire hydrant right by my house," said Coolidge Street resident Scott Snyder. "There are at least 15 people on my block who saw it."
According to Snyder, the employee told Coolidge Street residents he was "flushing the system" by letting water run out of the hydrant, and said nothing about a larger problem. He then placed a yellow traffic cone by the hydrant and drove away in a water department truck.
If the district knew of the problem at that hour, Snyder said, the public could have received notice on Monday instead of Tuesday.
"I have a feeling they are mistaken, and if the hydrant was open, it could have been for a different reason... like a discoloration in the water complaint," York said. "We weren't even aware at that time."
Brian Zanzonico contributed to this story. Comments about this story? Send an e-mail to Mal-wheditor@liherald.com or call (516) 569-4000 ext. 205
