NEW YORK — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed construction of a water line extension to protect people from contaminated groundwater, according to a press release.
The project ensures 73 homes and businesses have access to a safe source of drinking water, noted the release. The groundwater was contaminated from the Combe Fill South Landfill Superfund site in Chester and Washington Townships in New Jersey.
"This water line will permanently supply clean drinking water to homes and businesses that had previously gotten their water from groundwater threatened by the landfill contamination," said EPA Region 2 Superfund Director Walter Mugdan, in the release. "The completion of the water line is the culmination of a partnership between the EPA, Chester and Washington Townships and the Washington Township Municipal Utilities Authority."
Since Superfund sites rely on polluters to pay for cleanups, responsible parties contributed more than $50 million to the project, reported the release.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has provided in-home water treatment systems for homes with wells affected by the landfill contamination, stated the release. With the new pipe line, these homes will no longer need the systems.
The soil beneath the landfill was contaminated by volatile organic compounds, which can seriously affect people’s health, shared the release. The site operated as a landfill from the 1940s until 1981, and was added as a Superfund site in 1983.
You can find the entire release here.
