Murt Calls for the Immediate Closure of Aidenn Lair Well
HARRISBURG—Rep. Thomas Murt (R-Montgomery/Philadelphia) has asked for the immediate closure of a well serving Upper Dublin Township containing contaminants above levels considered safe for drinking water.
In a letter to Christopher Franklin, president and CEO of Aqua PA, Murt asked that the Aidenn Lair well close and Aqua PA provide uncontaminated substitute drinking water from a provider like the North Wales Water Authority. Aqua will soon close a second water source, the North Hills well, which also contains unacceptably high levels of chemicals known as PFAS in the drinking water.
At the July 25 community meeting in Horsham with the EPA, Aqua PA officials told Murt that the Aidenn Lair remain open for the six to 12 months it would take to acquire the proper permits, construct, and install the state-of-the-art filtration system needed to remove the PFAS chemicals.
“This time frame is simply too long,” Murt wrote. “I am asking that the construction and permitting process be given top priority by Aqua PA. With the safety of our drinking water in question, I believe it is wise to immediately shutdown both Aqua wells that serve Upper Dublin Township.
“It is also my request, that in order to provide safe drinking water to the people of Upper Dublin Township, Aqua PA provide uncontaminated substitute drinking water from a supplier such as the North Wales Water Authority, which has a proper filtration system that protects against PFAS contaminants in the water,” continued Murt. “This short-term action may only be necessary until the filtration system is installed at the Aidenn Lair site.”
The PFAS chemicals entered local water supplies from the Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve where the Department of Defense used the chemicals in training to extinguish fires.
The state standard for PFAS in water is 70 parts per trillion. Water in the Horsham area has been shown to have higher levels of the chemical.
“If these changes are not immediately made, the long-term health effects on the Upper Dublin Community and surrounding communities could be drastic,” Murt wrote. “Aqua PA is responsible for the quality of the water that many of the residents in Upper Dublin drink and with the evolving knowledge we have of PFAS levels on public health, Aqua PA shares responsibility for health consequences caused by water from your wells. Please do not perpetuate these problems by allowing these wells to continue to potentially lead to a health crisis.”
Murt has introduced
House Bill 705 to lower the state standard for PFAS to 5 parts per trillion.
Representative Thomas P. Murt
152nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: David Foster
267.207.0207
dfoster@pahousegop.com
RepMurt.com /
Facebook.com/RepMurt