PETERSBURG – A “city woman” who had concerns about drinking well water was the start of the process that led to the detection of mercury in about a dozen wells in Beesley’s Point recently.
Cape May County Public Health Coordinator Kevin Thomas said a man’s girlfriend was moving from the city to his home in Beesley’s Point and had concerns about drinking untreated water. In August, the man decided to have the water tested as a way of reassuring his girlfriend, and the test came back positive for mercury, nitrates and perfluoroalkyl substances.
Thomas said the property owner applied for assistance from the state through the Department of Environmental Protection and was able to essentially resolve his issue. However, the county Health Department, concerned about the neighborhood, decided to test other wells.
Thomas said the department tested additional wells in the Bayaire Road/Homestead Court area and found five out of nine tested high for mercury. The department notified the DEP, which, he said, “jumped in with both feet” on the matter. After testing another 20 wells, seven were discovered to contain hazardous levels of mercury.
Thomas said the next round of tests would include Diane and Redwish avenues, west of Route 9, and to Lake Corson Drive to the south.
At the Upper Township Committee meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15, a number of Beesley’s Point residents showed up out of concern about the contamination. Some, such as Steve Murphy, were worried that governmental agencies were not moving faster to test wells.
“The DEP won’t test until Nov. 13. What is taking so long?” Murphy asked, referring to the initial timeline for testing. He said he received a letter from the DEP saying “Do what you think is best” and suggesting he hire a private company to do water testing, or stay elsewhere until the situation is resolved.
On Monday, Oct. 21, the county Health Department said the DEP had moved up additional testing to the end of October. The DEP did not get back to the Herald for an update.
Other residents at the meeting wondered about the source of the pollution.
“Was the demolition of (the B.L. England Power Plant) the source of the mercury contamination?” a woman asked.
Mayor Jay Newman said the township was not going to speculate on the source.
Another resident asked why the entire township did not have municipal water.
Township Business Administrator Gary DeMarzo said the township does not have a water utility. He said parts of Beesley’s Point hooked up to New Jersey American Water after contamination was found at the site of a former Texaco gas station at Route 9 and Roosevelt Boulevard.
Asked if that was the source of the mercury, Newman repeated a statement made at the beginning of the meeting, in which he said the township was not going to point fingers, but would wait for the state’s testing to attempt to identify a source.
DEP representatives met with county and township officials on Thursday, Oct. 10, to discuss the matter and the “next steps for residents whose private wells are impacted” by mercury, DEP press officer Caryn Shinske said.
Shinske said the county Health Department had sampled 10 other wells in the vicinity of the wells with elevated levels of mercury and found no mercury.
She said that residents at the affected properties, all in Beesley’s Point between Route 9 and the Parkway, were notified by the Health Department at the request of the DEP and state Department of Health that they have the option to temporarily relocate, with costs covered by the state’s Spill Fund.
Shinske also said the DEP has been contacting residents “to arrange for installation of a point-of-entry treatment, or POET, system for their wells, at no cost to the homeowner.”
DeMarzo said the DEP had authorized the installation of two types of filters at the properties identified. He said residents who spend any money, including for buying drinking water, should save their receipts and they would be reimbursed. Thomas said the DEP decided to fund the acquisition of the water filters for the private homes.
Shinske said the DEP would be taking additional samples from the affected wells to confirm the results of samples already taken.
According to Thomas, mercury can cause brain and nervous system damage in people, as well as seriously injure kidneys. “Young children and pregnant women are more susceptible to harm,” he said.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
