THREE PRESTON (CAMBRIDGE) WELLS

The three wells are P9, P15 and P16. P9 is located just north of the former Ciba-Geigy plant. Bacteria are very low as is Turbidity (murkiness of the raw water). Chlorine levels however have a maximum value of 2.97 mg/l which is just shy of the statutory maximum of 3 mg/l. Sodium levels are also well above the reccommended 20 mg/l level. Nitrates and nitrites are both low which is a good thing. Solvents and herbicides may be a problem with NINE Method Detection Limits (MDL) exceeding 1 part per billion (ppb) plus Glyphosate at a MDL of 25 ppb. Both HAAs and THMs are listed with the "(Note: show latest average)" included and then zero results following. Unimpressive. ...................................................................................................... Now here's where it gets interesting. Years ago the Region were doing multiple repeat samplings per year for TCE at I belive well P6 (near Northstar Aerospace) prior to that well being shut down. This made sense based upon the environmental history of that company. Well guess what. It appears to be out of the blue but the Region have tested for and published a non-detect result for NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine) in well P9. Also their MDL is an outstanding .0009 ppb. You can see why I complain about MDLs greater than 1 ppb. I believe this sampling makes sense with known former polluter (early 90s) Ciba-Geigy close by. ............................................................................................................................ Well P15 is located in the north-west end of Cambridge (Preston). While bacteria levels seem low oddly there was a Notice submitted regarding CT which I believe stands for Contact Time. It is measured in parts per million (chlorine) per minute and was at 2.47 mg/l*min. Supposedly this reading was low which surprises me. Regardless when we check out chlorine levels after disinfection they range from too low .48 mg/l to a much too high 4.99 mg/l. Perhaps the too high number was a response to the initial too low number?? Eveything else looks normal, unfortunately including the too high MDLs for 8 solvents and herbicides. ...................................................................................................... Well P16 was shut down for all of 2020. In fact as I recall it's been shut down for many years. In fact the "latest" sampling and testing data is from 2003! Now here's where it gets even weirder. There are NINETEEN MDLs greater than 1 ppb with many at the 5-10 ppb. concentration. What the hell! It seems clear to me that this well is contaminated with solvents and herbicides but for some reason (emergency use?) the Region don't want to decommission it. This is scary. Oh and one more scary fact. Glyphosate in 2003 had a MDL of 10 ppb versus the current 25 ppb MDL at all wells. This suggests to me that Glyphosate (Roundup) levels continue to rise in our treated groundwater. This is very wrong especially with U.S. legal action being taken against Glyphosate for potential/likely cancer effects.