East Norriton PCE Site
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

- Public Water Supply to be Extended -

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 3

April 14, 2005

Public Water Supply Lines...

On March 31, 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) approved additional funding for
connecting residents to a public water line extension in
the Rahway Avenue area of East Norriton Township.

In the fall of 2004, perchloroethylene (PCE) was
detected in drinking water wells at elevated levels. To
ensure people have a safe drinking water supply, EPA is
continuing to provide bottled water to potentially affected
residences until the connection to public water is
completed.

EPA, East Norriton Township and Norristown will work
with the Pennsylvania American Water Company to
extend the public water supply line for residential
properties with contaminated wells. During this project,
EPA is also working closely with the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), the
Montgomery County Health Department (MCHD) and
the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR).

Next Steps...

To fix the problem:

East Norriton Township and Norristown plan on
adopting ordinances requiring residences with
private wells in the Rahway Avenue area, to hook
up to public water. (About 60 homes will need to
be hooked up.)

East Norriton Township and Norristown are
working with Pennsylvania American Water
Company to provide main water line extensions,
at no cost to the residents.

EPA will not conduct residential work
without first getting permission from the
property owner. We will be contacting
individual property owners to discuss access
agreements and work schedules.

EPA will provide curbside-to-home hook-
ups, at no cost to the residents, within the
time-frame of the ordinances.

Areas with the highest levels of
contamination will be scheduled for work
first, followed by the next highest, and so
on, until all Rahway Avenue area properties
with private wells are addressed.

EPA will also be closing up the private
wells, so future residents do not
unknowingly use the contaminated water.
Another important reason the wells must be
closed is because continued pumping could
cause the contaminated groundwater to
spread.

EPA is continuing to provide bottled water
to affected residences until the connection to
public water is completed.

Our first priority is to protect public health and the
environment, however while steps are being taken
to fix the problem, we are also conducting an
investigation into the possible source(s) of the
contamination.


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Schedule..

Work to Date..,

EPA plans to begin work on the hookups in early
summer. Before work can begin on private property,
EPA will be contacting individual property owners to
discuss access agreements and work schedules.

Work activities may include:

yard excavation
road drilling / road construction
mid- to heavy-sized equipment operations

Work is estimated to take about six months to complete.
All hookups are expected to be completed by the end of
the year, however weather could be a key factor in the
final schedule.

What you may notice...

Workers may be wearing protective clothing, such as
coveralls, reflective vests, hardhats, and gloves.
Government vehicles, trucks and equipment will be
coming in and out of the vicinity. We anticipate that the
work will temporarily impact the flow of traffic. Some
sections of Rahway Avenue and corresponding side
street(s) will be partially blocked off during work in that
section. The avenue will be limited to only one lane at
those work sections. Please keep this in mind while
driving and proceed at a slow, safe speed.

Background...

Since December 2004, as part of an immediate response
to address PCE-related contamination found in residential
wells, EPA has been distributing bottled water, free of
charge, to residents with potentially affected wells in the
Rahway Avenue area of East Norriton Township. The
contaminant of concern is perchloroethylene (PCE); also
called tetrachloroethylene, and sometimes nicknamed
"perc." PCE is commonly used in dry cleaning and metal
de-greasing.

EPA is working on this project as a team with with
East Norriton Township, Norristown, MCHD,
PADEP, and ATSDR. Work so far includes:

Sampling residential wells for
contamination

Providing over 45,000 gallons of bottled
water to potentially affected residents in the
Rahway Avenue area

Holding a public meeting with the
community to discuss the project, provide
information, and answer questions

Continuing to keep the community updated
by distributing fact sheets (like this one) to
residents and to other interested parties

If you have any questions regarding this project,
please contact one of the representatives listed
below.

For More Information. Contact...

Trish Taylor, US EPA
Community Involvement Coordinator
(215) 814 - 5539

Lynda Rebarchak, PADEP
Community Relations Coordinator
(484) 250-5820

Rachel DeMarzio, MCHD
Water Quality Supervisor
(610) 278-5117, ext 6727

Helmuth Baerwald
East Norriton Township
Township Manager
(610) 275 -2800, ext 114

Thomas O'Donnell
Norristown Fire Chief
Emergency Management Coordinator
(610) 270 -0420


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