Wells on Bayaire Road in Upper Township contaminated with mercury
UPPER TOWNSHIP — Residents in the vicinity of Bayaire Road in Marmora are struggling with health concerns and restrictions on water usage following a report that some wells in the neighborhood are contaminated with high levels of mercury.
“We’re all afraid,” homeowner Helen Libro said.
Residents say the situation came to their attention a couple of weeks ago when the Cape May County Department of Health notified them of the elevated levels and informed them of its intent to test their wells.
Libro, who has worked at Ready’s Coffee Shop in Ocean City for many years, said her well tested at 12,000+ micrograms per liter (mpl), far higher than the safety standard of 2 mpl.
“None of us really has answers on why we are high on mercury, extremely high,” she said, noting she is awaiting results of a follow-up test. “We don’t know where it’s coming from; nobody seems to have answers.”
Neighbors said one of the households on the dead-end street had a test conducted months ago that showed highly elevated levels of the heavy metal, prompting testing of all of the wells.
Concerns include the effects on the health of the adults and children living in the affected homes, as well as their pets; the financial costs of testing, installing a filtration system and possibly capping their wells and hooking up to public water; the future viability of their wells, plumbing and appliances; and how the situation may affect the resale value of the homes.
“We are here in limbo, not supposed to really even touch the water, or limit exposure. I can’t wash dishes, so I have to pay for paper/plastic products. We are buying food out because we can’t cook,” homeowner Jessica Gurdgiel said, adding she, her husband and two children are showering and washing clothes elsewhere.
“All these expenses have really added up, not to mention additional stresses,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem fair that we absorb all these expenses and yet we didn’t spill large amounts of mercury, nor did we drop PFOS in our water.”
She said she is concerned about the health effects of mercury exposure, noting the family has been tested.
“We haven’t even opened that chapter; we are waiting on the results of the tests. If we have high levels in our body, it is carcinogenic. What does this mean for our kids?” she said.
“The number one concern is the safety of our kids and our drinking water,” husband Josh Gurdgiel said, noting they have lived in the home for 14 years and their children are 12 and 10 years old. “I wonder when it went sour.”
He said when they moved there in 2010 a test found a level of .5 mpl. He said he believed tests at the tap by the water conditioning service would find any contamination.
“We didn’t pay for a yearly test; that was ignorance on our part,” he said.“I didn’t realize that that wouldn’t be the same.”
Jessica Gurdgiel also questioned whether mercury binds to pipes and appliances.
“We will forever not trust this water,” she said, noting the issue harms the resale value of their home. “I am sure people won’t be jazzed to buy our house if we want to move.”
Meanwhile, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding how much if any of the water should be used for bathing and washing clothes while the residents use bottled water for drinking, cooking and washing dishes.
Cape May County Public Health Coordinator Kevin Thomas advised those living in the area not to drink or cook with the water.
Josh Gurdgiel said their well tested at 6,500 mpl, which is alarmingly high but less than half of what some of his neighbors are experiencing.
He said a poison control center said the mercury likely would not bind to cookware or laundry but not to shower in it, don’t drink it and try to keep children away from it.
Libro said she was told not to drink or cook with the water, but regarding showering: “We can’t get an answer on that, so I am still doing it because how can you not shower? How do you not wash your clothes?”
Across the street, Doreen Gallagher said, “We’re just hoping that it will be taken care of; it’s a very tedious situation we are going through.”
She moved to her house in 2008 from Bergen County, noting she had always had public water.
“It was like moving from sewers and city water to a Third World country,” she said of having a well and septic system.
Gallagher said she is using bottled water to wash and rinse her dishes and recently purchased paper plates.
“You can’t cook with it, you can’t drink it, you can’t bathe in it, you can’t wash your clothes in it,” she said.
Extremely high levels of mercury
Mercury contamination is deemed unsafe above 2 micrograms per liter, and residents say tests of their wells have shown levels exceeding 12,000 mpl.
Jessica Gurdgiel, whose well tested at 6,500 mpl, posted on the Facebook page “You’re probably from Upper Township if …” that the DEP representative she spoke with “had never heard of levels this high in well water. He made me repeat my results. He also advised us to not even touch the water for washing, showering, laundry, etc.”
She said residents are “basically camping in their home and relying on family/friends for showers and the laundromat.”
She questioned why the area was skipped when water lines were installed more than two decades ago and why those moving to the area were not notified of a potential problem.
“I certainly would have tested my water more frequently,” she said, noting she and her husband moved into the neighborhood in 2010, when “our water was completely fine other than iron/ph that was resolved with a softener.”
She would like to know if and if so, how quickly they may be able to get water service, saying that “seems better than everyone doing their own filter system that will then need to be removed when city water comes.”
Gallagher, who was highly concerned about the health of her 12-pound dog, worries about the value of her home.
“If this is not fixed up fast, who’s going to want to buy here? You’re not going to be able to sell your house,” Gallagher said.
What’s next
The Department of Environmental Protection has taken oversight of the situation and is working with the homeowners to remedy it through installation of a point-of-entry treatment system, or POET, to remove the mercury and other contaminants.
Josh Gurdgiel said he is in the process of getting three estimates for installation of the POET, noting his cheapest quote was $2,000. Libro said her estimate was closer to $4,000.
New Jersey American Water provides service to a lot of homes in the area but those on Bayaire, part of Holly Berry Lane, Allendale Road, Lake Corson Lane and Homestead Court rely solely on well water.
Gurdgiel said he and his wife are not opposed to hooking up to public water if that were a possibility, noting that doing so would require capping his well and paying for the connection.
“We don’t know how quick the remedy will be. It could be weeks or years,” Gurdgiel said.
Libro said the process is “a little overwhelming,” noting they have to get three estimates for installation of a POET, “make copies and send it off with this long, intricate letter.”
Township Committee has vowed to offer its assistance.
Mayor Jay Newman reported during a Township Committee meeting Sept. 23 that he and Township Administrator Gary DeMarzo had been informed about the situation, noting he received a letter advising him to have his well tested because he lives in the vicinity.
“We are on top of it and moving forward in an appropriate manner,” Newman said.
The mayor later provided an update, stating there is no compound on Earth that is more precious than water.
“As the DEP continues to test area wells for the presence of mercury I, as mayor, and with the unanimous and unwavering agreement of the committee, will tirelessly advocate to resolve this most unnerving discovery,” he stated. “There can be no justification not to use every resource, every department, every division at our disposal to bring the public comfort when they turn the tap on.”
Newman stated the township has requested that the DEP appear at its next meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15, to explain the process.
“The committee assures you we want no less than the issues fixed ASAP, and we want clean and safe water to our residents; and we want it done yesterday,” Newman stated.
DeMarzo said the DEP is the lead agency for the incident, under Program Interest #1072516.
“The agency has identified nine positive wells and we are told the DEP is waiting for the results on 13 additional well tests,” DeMarzo said. “The DEP will continue well water sampling and testing until they identify the plume.”
He said the Immediate Concern Unit would be informing residents of the situation and scheduling a date to sample their wells.
“The Immediate Concern Unit will continue to sample until they are ensured that no other wells in the area are contaminated,” DeMarzo stated.
In the meantime, residents are living in fear for their safety.
“Ultimately the health of our kids and us, if we were ingesting extreme levels of mercury for potential years, that is the worry,” Josh Gurdgiel said.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff