We try to understand Olin
’s position on where its responsibility for perchlorate-tainted
water lies, we really do, but it’s getting harder.
We try to understand Olin’s position on where its responsibility for perchlorate-tainted water lies, we really do, but it’s getting harder.
Olin maintains that no perchlorate found north of the Tennant Avenue site, where it manufactured safety flares for 40 years, is its problem because – everybody knows, they say – the aquifer flows south, not north.
Well, phooey.
Perchlorate has tainted three city wells north of the site, causing them to be turned off, lowering the city’s water supply by 13 percent and leading to a critical water shortage.
Even if pumping city wells drew the perchlorate-laden water north of Tennant, the chemical still has Olin’s name on it. Just because its presence in Morgan Hill’s northern wells was mechanically engineered by pumping and not subject to natural flow patterns, it is still Olin’s perchlorate. And Olin’s responsibility.
The company did pay for one new well to replace the Tennant Avenue well but leaves the city – and its residents – hanging out to dry on the rest. And we do mean “dry.”
Olin Corp.’s failure to address Morgan Hill’s water problem is having a direct effect on residents.
Drying park and business lawns and pleas to residents to cut back on water use are just beginning as we enter the three month really hot season.
The dilemma appeared last week when the city water supply in its main reservoirs fell below the minimum capacity for safety.
This meant that, it a fire were to break out – and we are deep into the fire season – firefighters could have found their hoses dribbling water, rendering them unable to save somebody’s house or barn. No Olin buildings are threatened by this shortage.
When water levels are low the city cuts irrigation by 50 percent and calls on its “water heroes” to do the same.
The name “water hero” is given to businesses signing up to cut irrigation voluntarily when the need arises. Morgan Hill School District (four sites), Alien Technology and Towa/Intercon Technologies in Morgan Hill Business Park and Cochrane Plaza have all signed up as water heroes. Give them a big salute.
If your business is surrounded by more than a postage stamp-sized lawn, consider signing up, too.
To be sure, the city goes way beyond any state or federal guideline on when to shut down wells – closed at 4 parts per billion (the detection level) instead of at the required 70 ppb level, just to be safe. Since March the city didn’t even have to tell customers that perchlorate was in the water until it reached 6 ppb, but it does anyway.
City officials have said they prefer to err on the side of safety, especially since science has not determined what level of perchlorate is safe to ingest.
So, if you use water, use less. Do you really need the water running while you brush your teeth? Such a long shower? Try a broom to clean that patio, it’s good exercise. Can your irrigation be made more efficient?
For water saving tips, check out cable Channel 17 or www.morganhill.ca.gov/ If you want to be a water hero, call 779-7247.
