County Provides Results of Water/Soil Testing at Acreage School Sites

August 21, 2009

To satisfy a citizen concern about sending children to school in the Acreage in light of the cancer cluster concern, the County agreed to take soil and groundwater samples at Golden Grove Elementary School to see if there was any condition identified that could be considered a problem. This would also be worthwhile data to supplement the current state testing effort and other long term data about Acreage environmental conditions.   Due to vendor contractual terms, a second school, Western Pines Middle, was added as an additional test site at minimal cost.

Attached, are the summary tables for the soil and water samples taken on Aug. 6, 2009 from Golden Grove Elementary (children playground) and Western Pine Community Middle School (baseball field) sites.  There are two water and two soil samples at each site, from different depths.  The tests were run for a lengthy list of metals and inorganic and organic chemicals, including common and uncommon pesticides and herbicides.  Anytime a “U” is shown that means nothing was detected.  MDL means minimum detection level. The last column is a compilation of references on acceptable levels as a guide only. These tests are in terms of parts per million, billion and even trillion as the science of detection gets more advanced.

• Western Pines Sampling • Golden Grove Sampling

The results indicate that for both schools, the tested environment is safe. 

The only irregularity is a very slight violation of drinking water standards for arsenic (.012 compared to .010 mg/L) for the 11-foot-deep groundwater sample at Western Pines.  Arsenic could result from natural, agricultural or other sources. The school’s drinking water comes from the Seminole Water Plant, and their drinking water does not violate this standard.  The Seminole Water Plant provides drinking water for most of the schools in the Acreage from the local aquifer and produces a high quality drinking water that consistently has met or exceeded all federal drinking water standards. 

The surface soil testing did not reveal any condition that would be a threat to children playing in those areas, and the soil and water environment of the school area should be considered good.  Drinking water quality is excellent.