Ohio: Middletown - Implementation of Multi- faceted Wellhead Protection Plan Background The City of Middletown in Butler County, Ohio, has a population of 55,000, and its water system serves approximately 60,000 customers. Middletown's 13 active production wells tap the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer at depths ranging from 40 to 120 feet and have a total production capacity of approximately 25 million gallons per day (mgd). The water treatment plant is currently rated to treat 13.5 million gallons per day, but a filtration rate study is almost completed which increases the treatment rate to 20 mgd. There are a wide variety of land uses in the area, including residential, light industrial, commercial, and heavy industrial. Several large industrial sites are located in the vicinity of the city's wellfield, including a steel mill and a paper manufacturer. Middletown was prompted to begin its source water protection effort in 1991 by two events. The first development was the discovery of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the city's ground water sources. Second, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency initiated a requirement that water suppliers in vulnerable areas undertake wellhead protection to gain approval for system improvements. Priority Contamination Threat Middletown's priority contamination threat is from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the town's ground water sources. Local Involvement and Developing the Protection Plan In 1993, Middletown was awarded a grant by the U.S. EPA to develop an educational public outreach program that addressed source water protection. Two components of the outreach program were created to reach a wide segment of the population more effectively. The first component included development of educational materials geared for adults and high school students, which were presented at schools, rotary group meetings, and other events. The other component targeted development of educational resources and activities geared for students at the fourth grade level. These materials were provided to elementary schools in the city. In addition, the city convened a ground water protection committee to develop a management plan for the Middletown Wellhead Protection Program (WHPP). The committee included residents of Middletown, city staff, and representatives from the Sorg Paper Company and other local businesses. This committee directed the development of all elements of the management plan, including recommendations on zoning issues and development of a hazardous waste collection program. During the initial consideration of a zoning overlay (discussed below), the city held several meetings with local companies for input and feedback. Management Measures Office of Water (4606M) 816F10037 January 2010 ------- Implementation of management measures to control priority potential contaminant sources (PCSs) is a State of Ohio requirement. The city identified one confirmed source of contamination that resulted in development of a plume of contamination within the one- to five-year time-of-travel (TOT) zone to the wellfield. TOT is the distance from the production well through which it would take contamination in the ground water one to five years to flow. The city also identified a total of 23 high- priority and 61 medium- priority potential sources of contamination in the vicinity of the water supply. Middletown's Wellhead Protection Plan, approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in 1997, includes delineation of a wellfield protection area, public outreach methods, and a management plan for the city's water resources. The Wellhead Protection Plan formed the basis for Middletown's Source Water Protection Plan required under the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The management plan laid out several techniques to reduce the risk to the aquifer by the identified potential sources of contamination. These methods included preparation of zoning overlays to aid in city planning, annual inspections of PCSs by the health and/or fire department, prohibitions to keep trains and trucks away from the wellfield, review of building permits, underground storage tank reporting and upgrades, implementation of a hazardous waste collection program, notification signs marking the five-year TOT, and closing of dry wells in locations where storm sewers were available. These activities are being implemented gradually. Regulations that will apply within a zoning overlay district are in early stages of development, but it is anticipated that the overlay district will correspond to the wellfield protection area delineated by the WHPP. It is proposed that existing businesses and industries within the one-year time-of-travel to the wellfield will be subject to the provisions of the management plan, such as annual or biannual inspection of PCSs and compliance with Best Management Practices (BMPs). It is possible that in the future, certain types of businesses may be prohibited from the area within the zoning overlay district; however, the city would prefer to work cooperatively with existing and potential businesses to reach a mutually acceptable arrangement through the implementation of BMPs that would provide first-rate protection to the city's sources of drinking water. Contingency Planning As part of the management plan, a contingency plan has been developed for use in the event that the city's water supply is threatened or compromised. The plan will be activated if certain contaminant concentrations are detected above Preventive Action Limits (PALs) in monitoring wells or production wells during routine monitoring. Preventive Action Limits are set percentages (determined by the Ohio EPA) of the federal Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for each contaminant. Wth this system, problems can be identified and addressed before contamination reaches unhealthy levels. The plan will also be activated in the event of an emergency within the wellhead protection area that threatens water quality. If a PAL is exceeded during routine monitoring, the water supplier will retest the water. If the water sample exceeds the PAL in the retest, the water supplier will notify the EPA and begin an investigation to locate the source of contamination so that prompt action can be taken to avoid a public health threat. Office of Water (4606M) 816F10037 January 2010 ------- In the event that there is a hazardous materials spill in the vicinity of the city's wellfield, the Middletown Fire Department will respond. The fire department is trained to use cleaning methods that will prevent the contamination from being washed into the soil and subsequently into the aquifer. For example, within the wellfield protection area, the fire department would not use liquids in a cleanup effort. Measuring Program Effectiveness In addition to the required federal and state regimen of water quality analyses performed on production wells, Middletown conducts routine monitoring of ground water quality at several monitoring wells twice a year. When the monitoring wells indicate that the plume of contamination discovered in the 1990s has migrated, a new monitoring well will be installed to track the change in position. This policy will help monitor the progress in the cleanup of the existing plume and identify the future path of the contamination in time for preventative measures to be taken. Middletown's closed landfill also has its own network of monitoring wells that are sampled on a regular schedule. Sampling results from the landfill wells are submitted to the water system to provide additional information on the ground water in the city's aquifer. For further information, contact: David J. Duritsch Jr., PE, CPM Engineering & Environmental Services Director City of Middletown (513)425-7960 daved@ci.middletown.oh.us Office of Water (4606M) 816F10037 January 2010 ------- |