EPA launching contamination clean-up to save Des Moines drinking water

RIGHT NOW. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. NEW TONIGHT, THE EPA IS WORKING TO MAKE SURE CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER DOES NOT MAKE IT INTO YOUR FAUCET. THE CONTAMINATED SITE IS AN INDUSTRIAL PARKING LOT NEAR FLEUR DRIVE AND BELLE. KCCI’S PEPPER PIPER IS THERE LIVE TONIGHT WITH MORE ON THE CLEANUP EFFORTS. PEPPER. THAT’S RIGHT. BEN STACY JUST A FEW DOZEN FEET UNDER WHERE I’M STANDING RIGHT NOW. THAT DANGEROUS CHEMICAL IS MIXING IN WITH DES MOINES GROUNDWATER. THE IOWA DNR SAYS THEY’VE BEEN WATCHING THIS SITE FOR YEARS NOW. BUT NOW THAT IT’S BECOMING A PROBLEM, THEY HAVE TO DO SOMETHING. MIGRATE. HIDING UNDER THE PAVEMENT IS A DANGER TO DES MOINES. IT’S A KNOWN CARCINOGEN. AND THAT’S WHY WE DO NOT WANT IT IN THE DRINKING WATER. TCE IS NOW IN THE CITY’S GROUNDWATER, WHERE THE CHEMICALS COMMONLY FOUND IN SOLVENTS TO DEGREASE OR REMOVE PAINT. THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY SAYS. IOWA FOUND THE CHEMICAL NEAR THE RACCOON RIVER IN 2004. THEY’VE BEEN MONITORING IT EVER SINCE, BUT NOW IT’S MOVING OFF OF THE SITE AND IN TIME IT WOULD BECOME AN ISSUE FOR THE PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY. DES MOINES WATER WORKS CEO TED CORGAN SAYS IT HASN’T REACHED THEIR DRINKING SUPPLY YET, BUT THE EPA WANTS IT CLEANED UP BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE. THEY’LL DETERMINE WHAT THE BEST OPTION IS, AND THEY’LL GET IT CLEANED UP. THE RIVER HAS BEEN THREATENED BY THIS CHEMICAL BEFORE. THE DAKOTA SITE HAS BEEN IN REMEDIATION FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS, AND IT’S STILL ONGOING. TCE ALSO SHOWED UP HERE, AND DOZENS OF OTHER AREAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ACTUALLY, THERE ARE QUITE A FEW OF THEM AROUND DES MOINES BECAUSE DECADES AGO, PRODUCTS THAT USE THE CHEMICAL, THEY WOULD JUST DUMP IT ON THE GROUND WHEN THEY WERE DONE WITH IT, LETTING IT SOAK INTO THE GROUNDWATER TO GET IT OUT. THE EPA WILL INVESTIGATE THE SITE. WATER IS PROTECTED TODAY. IT’S SAFE, BUT WE DON’T WANT THIS SITE TO BECOME A PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE. AND SINCE THE EPA IS INVOLVED, THE FUNDS TO DO THIS CLEANUP WILL NOT COME FROM IOWA TAX TAX DOLLARS. IT WILL COME FROM FEDERAL FUNDS. BUT THE WHOLE PROJECT COULD TAKE A FEW YEARS TO COMPLETE. IN DES MOINES, PEPPER PURPURA,

The Environmental Protection Agency is launching clean-up efforts in Des Moines for a dangerous chemical known to cause cancer that is threatening the city's drinking water.The chemical Trichloroethylene is a known carcinogen; studies have linked it to liver and kidney cancers if consumed. Currently, it's contaminating groundwater near the Raccoon River at Fleur Drive and Bell.The EPA declared the area a superfund site on Tuesday. The area is called Lot 46 Valley Gardens, and it's been added to the EPA's National Priority List for clean-up.The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been monitoring the site since 2004, but recently, the contaminated water started migrating toward the Raccoon River, where Des Moines Water Works sources drinking water for the city."It is not currently a threat, we're not seeing TCE in the drinking water, the water is perfectly safe, but it's moving off of the site and in time, it would become an issue for the public water supply," Water Works CEO Ted Corrigan said. The EPA said this contaminant is not naturally occurring and must be introduced to an area. Corrigan said at Lot 46 and a number of other sites around Des Moines, it is believed the TCE contamination is the result of decades of industrial businesses dumping solvents containing TCE, like paint removers and degreasers, onto the land, allowing it to seep into water underground. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, TCE has been discovered at 1,051 of the 1,854 sites on the National Priority List. Last year, the Biden administration proposed a ban on the chemical.To prevent it from spreading into Des Moines' drinking supply, the EPA will investigate the site to come up with a solution. The project could take years to complete, but since the EPA is handling the effort, it will be funded by the federal government, not local tax dollars.

DES MOINES, Iowa —

The Environmental Protection Agency is launching clean-up efforts in Des Moines for a dangerous chemical known to cause cancer that is threatening the city's drinking water.

The chemical Trichloroethylene is a known carcinogen; studies have linked it to liver and kidney cancers if consumed. Currently, it's contaminating groundwater near the Raccoon River at Fleur Drive and Bell.

The EPA declared the area a superfund site on Tuesday. The area is called Lot 46 Valley Gardens, and it's been added to the EPA's National Priority List for clean-up.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been monitoring the site since 2004, but recently, the contaminated water started migrating toward the Raccoon River, where Des Moines Water Works sources drinking water for the city.

"It is not currently a threat, we're not seeing TCE in the drinking water, the water is perfectly safe, but it's moving off of the site and in time, it would become an issue for the public water supply," Water Works CEO Ted Corrigan said.

The EPA said this contaminant is not naturally occurring and must be introduced to an area. Corrigan said at Lot 46 and a number of other sites around Des Moines, it is believed the TCE contamination is the result of decades of industrial businesses dumping solvents containing TCE, like paint removers and degreasers, onto the land, allowing it to seep into water underground.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, TCE has been discovered at 1,051 of the 1,854 sites on the National Priority List. Last year, the Biden administration proposed a ban on the chemical.

To prevent it from spreading into Des Moines' drinking supply, the EPA will investigate the site to come up with a solution. The project could take years to complete, but since the EPA is handling the effort, it will be funded by the federal government, not local tax dollars.

EPA launching contamination clean-up to save Des Moines drinking water

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