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New water well hooked up in Bally; Residents no longer need bottled water

Release Date: 09/23/2010
Contact Information: Roy Seneca seneca.roy@epa.gov (215)814-5567

PHILADELPHIA (Sept. 23, 2010) – The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that a new drinking water well has been hooked up to the Bally Borough public water system, and that residents no longer have to rely on bottled drinking water.

A contractor has been supplying about 1,000 residents with bottled water since 2003 because the Bally water system was contaminated with an industrial solvent, 1,4-dioxane, that EPA believes came from the Bally Groundwater Superfund Site. EPA considers 1,4-dioxane to be a probable human carcinogen. The groundwater contamination is attributed to past operations at the former Bally Engineered Structures (BES) manufacturing plant that operated in Bally from the 1930s to 1995.

To alleviate the contamination problem, officials completely disconnected the contaminated well from the water system, and hooked up a new well located in an uncontaminated area about one mile away. The new well is now connected, and officials flushed the entire water system to remove any contaminated water that may have been left from the old well.

Water tests conducted by EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection confirm that 1,4 dioxane is no longer present at levels of concern, which means that Bally water system customers can now use tap water for drinking.

The contractor supplying bottled water has notified EPA that Monday, Sept. 27 will be the last day for bottled water deliveries, and that the company will make arrangements with customers to recover water dispensers.

For more information on the Bally Groundwater Superfund Site, visit https://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/npl/PAD061105128.html.