Millstone family seeks help for water woes

BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

PHOTOSBYJENNIFER KOHLHEPP Above, Ed Tracy, of Millstone, points out how close his water well is to neighboring businesses that rely on septic tanks. At right, a home water testing kit reveals water taken from the faucets at the Tracy home has between 3.0 and 5.0 mg ammonia per liter. MILLSTONE - There may not be one drop of water in the Tracy home that's safe enough for the family to use or drink.

Millstone resident Ed Tracy had to move his wife, Donna, and son Eddie out of their Trenton/Lakewood Road home in the Clarksburg section of the township last week due to complications with and possible contamination of their water supply.

The Tracys have a private septic and well. Drilled in 1986, their well is only 50 feet deep, according to Mr. Tracy, but state law now requires it to be 100 feet deep.

Mr. Tracy first noticed a funny taste in his water while drinking it on April 5. The situation worsened when his wife started feeling sick. Then, on April 7, water coming directly out of all the faucets in the house began to smell.

"You can smell the water in here even when we're not using it," Mrs. Tracy said. "It smells in here even with the windows open."

The Tracys have brought their problem to the attention of their neighbors, as well as township and county officials. However, the family believes it has not received adequate help thus far for their ongoing problem.

"Even if someone would just call us and say, 'Well, you should do this,' I would appreciate it," Mr. Tracy said. "What do I have to do - drop dead before someone notices?"

"I've paid taxes in this town for 20 years," his wife said. "It's pretty pathetic the response we've had."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Tracy believe they are getting sick because of their water.

"For a couple of days, I was throwing up and had a headache," Mrs. Tracy said.

"My stomach is killing me," Mr. Tracy said, adding that his doctor sent him to the hospital for blood tests.

Once the water started to smell, he went out and purchased a water testing kit to test the water himself. According to the test he performed, the water has enough ammonia in it to kill fish.

Since the initial home test, Tracy has spent $1,100 on other water tests. He is also currently working with the Toms River-based drinking-water testing company Precision Analytical Services Inc.

The first set of test results, according to Tracy, stated that the water had a low pH level and contained traces of a few chemicals including toluene, which is an adhesive.

The second battery of tests sought to detect for ammonia along with 11 different pesticides, according to Tracy. Test results came back positive for small traces of ammonia and aldrin, a historic pesticide that was once commonly used on farms in Millstone and the surrounding area.

Despite the tests that were done, Tracy is still not satisfied with their results. He believes there is some other form of contamination in his water because it has caused eye, nose, throat and skin irritation to those who've been exposed to it.

However, he said, without being able to determine what the possible contaminant is, the water testing company does not know what to test for. He also said that without knowing what he could have possibly ingested, his doctor does not know what to treat him for.

In order to seal off his well if it is indeed contaminated, he must first determine what is contaminating the water. So he has turned to his neighbors for help.

Tracy lives across the street from Dairy Queen and the Veterinary Surgical and Diagnostic Specialists (VSDS) animal hospital. He asked both businesses to provide him with a list of items that might be used on a daily basis, which possibly could have seeped into the groundwater.

According to Tracy, the Dairy Queen across the street had its septic replaced last year because the business had leakage problems and effluent was flowing out into the street in front of Tracy's home and near his shallow well.

After Tracy complained to the township, Dairy Queen replaced its septic system.

Representatives from Dairy Queen could not be reached for comment prior to publication.

Tracy said grass above the VSDS septic system recently began turning yellow, which indicates that the septic was discharging up instead of down, as it should.

"There's a yellow spot when a septic system starts to leak," Tracy said. "That means it's a bad septic."

As of April 21, the grass over the VSDS septic was still yellow. Tracy videotaped the VSDS pumping its system out later on in the week.

Brie Adams, hospital administrator at VSDS, said, "We're concerned for the health of his family, but we don't know what else we could possibly be doing."

Adams said that although Tracy has been to VSDS regarding his water, "There's been no proof shown to us that his well has any contaminates in it."

"[Tracy] came over here accusatory, completely argumentative and causing problems in front of our customers," Adams said.

VSDS has been "very cooperative" with Tracy, according to Adams. She said the business is "just as concerned as the Tracys are about the safety of the water because any contamination could affect us, too."

Abrams said there are three businesses in the general vicinity of the Tracy residence, and that there are also old tractors and trailers parked behind the Tracy residence.

"We've been here for three years and his wife just got sick," Abrams said. "Dairy Queen just had [septic system] work done last year, and there could be oil leakage from the old machinery on the property located behind his [Tracy's] house."

Abrams said VSDS adheres to all federal regulations regarding the disposal of its waste. She said the only items disposed of down the drains are water, detergent and bleach, which are used for laundry.

Mayor Nancy Grbelja said that Ron Trust, the coordinator of Millstone Township's Office of Emergency Management, had gone out to the Tracy residence soon after the water problems started.

Trust offered the Tracys a water buffalo, which is a device that stores drinking water. The buffalo would sit outside the house, and the family would have to cart in water from it as needed. However, they would also have to boil the water before each use.

The Tracys declined Trust's offer.

"Sending a water buffalo out with water in it that you have to boil before using does not answer Mr. Tracy's problems," Grbelja said.

After going to the Tracy residence herself on April 25, the mayor said she agrees that the water buffalo solution was "too little too late."

While Grbelja was at the Tracy residence, representatives from the Monmouth County Board of Health came to take more water samples.

The Monmouth County Board of Health inspector described the smell of the water as an organic, vegetative smell, according to Bill Simmons, the Board of Health's environmental health coordinator.

"Many wells in the Kirkwood Cohansey aquifer will have an odor problem because of sulfur that occurs naturally in the soil," Simmons said, "but the inspector said there was no sulfur odor.

"Mr. Tracy is upset," Simmons added, "but he is in communication with us."

Tracy told the Board of Health that his water smells like formaldehyde. Precision Analytical has sent a sample of his water to a water testing company in California to test for traces of formaldehyde. The results of those tests are due back sometime this week, according to Tracy.

If Tracy's results come back positive for formaldehyde or other any substance, Simmons said, the Board of Health would have to retest the water to confirm those results.

Simmons said the Board of Health has also researched formaldehyde as a water contaminant because according to Tracy, that's what his water smelled like.

"We researched formaldehyde, and it is rarely associated with water contamination," Simmons said, "because when it is discharged into the water it breaks down within two to three days."

Although formaldehyde contamination is associated more with air than with water, Simmons said, "We'll have to see what Mr. Tracy gets with his test results. If he gets something, we will have to confirm it with our own tests."

Simmons said the Board of Health has already done numerous tests on the Tracy family's water.

"We tested for volatile organic chemicals most likely to be found in groundwater and bacteria indicative of septic systems," Simmons said.

"These are pretty intensive tests, and everything failed the maximum contamination level," Simmons said.

Simmons said there are hundreds of thousands of chemicals that can be tested for. Besides the standard tests and tests the Board of Health has run in addition to the basic testing, Simmons said the Board of Health is trying to do some research "so that we can do more extensive testing."

Simmons said the Board of Health is now working with the state to see what other water tests it can possibly perform.

"We have ordered bottles and should be able to do another battery of tests [this week]," Simmons said.